WASHINGTON — Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour and another combatant likely were killed in a U.S. military drone strike in Pakistan, a U.S. official said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour, should it be confirmed, could have implications for stalled peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
It also could have political repercussions within the Taliban, where rival factions rejected Mansour’s leadership after he publicly assumed the title of his predecessor, Mullah Omar. Omar’s death was only disclosed last July after being kept secret for more than two years.
The Pentagon branded Mansour “an obstacle to peace and reconciliation between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban” and said he was actively involved in planning attacks that threatened U.S., Afghan and allied forces.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, confirming an airstrike targeting Mansour in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, said Mansour had prohibited Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks with the Afghan government.
“We are still assessing the results of the strike and will provide more information as it becomes available,” Cook said.
Multiple U.S. drones targeted the men as they rode in a vehicle in the remote area, southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.S. special operations forces operated the drones, in a mission authorized by President Barack Obama, the official said.
The strike took place at about 6 a.m. EDT, a U.S. official said, which would have placed it at Saturday in 3 p.m. in Pakistan.
A State Department official said Pakistan and Afghanistan were notified of the strike but did not disclose whether that notification was prior to it being carried out.
“The opportunity to conduct this operation to eliminate the threat that Mansour posed was a distinctive one, and we acted on it,” the official said.
Meanwhile, a new message purporting to come from the spokesman of Islamic State calls on followers to launch attacks on the United States and Europe during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in early June.
“Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad. Get prepared, be ready … to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the nonbelievers … especially for the fighters and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America,” the message said, suggesting attacks on military and civilian targets.
The authenticity of the audio clip, purporting to be from Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and distributed on Saturday by Twitter accounts that usually publish Islamic State statements, could not be verified.
“The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us. If one of you hoped to reach the Islamic State, we wish we were in your place to punish the Crusaders day and night,” Adnani said.
The militant group, which seeks to establish a caliphate across the Middle East and beyond, has claimed deadly attacks over the past year on civilians in France, Belgium and the United States.
But the message made no mention of the EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean on Thursday in unexplained circumstances, amid speculation by Egyptian, French and American officials that a jihadist attack was the most likely cause.