TALEBAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER KILLED: IRNA
ZAHEDAN (SISTAN AND BALOOCHESTAN PROVINCE) 9 Oct. (IPS) The commander of the ruling Afghan Taleban Air forces was killed Monday, the Iranian official news agency IRNA reported Tuesday.
"An informed source told IRNA late Monday night that Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the commander of Taleban militants' air force got killed during one of the Monday air raids of the American-British forces", the Agency reported from the city of Zahedan, near to Pakistan and Afghanistan borders.
Ahmad Nourzehi, who has received the news by phone from Afghanistan said that another Taleban high-ranking military official, Genral Umar Ataie, the commander of Nangarhar's First Battalion, too, has been killed during the same air raid, the agency added, not saying who is Mr. Nourzehi.
The news has still not been confirmed by any independent source.
U.S. and British forces launched air strikes and salvoes of cruise missiles at targets in Afghanistan including Taleban air bases and air defence batteries as well as training camps belonging to Osama Ben Laden's al-Qa’eda Organisation, suspected to be behind the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York and in Washington.
Taleban officials condemned the attacks as an "act of terrorism", reported that both bin Laden and their leader Mullah Omar had survived and vowed to retaliate. ENDS TALEBAN AIRFORCE CHIEF KILLED 91001