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QUETTA, Pakistan (CBS/AP) Dec. 23, 2006 — A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said.
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was killed Tuesday by a U.S. airstrike while traveling by vehicle in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand.
Osmani was the Taliban’s chief military commander in southern Afghanistan and played a “central role in facilitating terrorist operations” including roadside bombs, suicide attacks and kidnappings. He was part of a group of “co-equals” at the top of the Taliban leadership chain just under Mullah Omar, U.S. military spokesman Col. Tom Collins said.
Collins said Osmani had been “utilizing both sides” of the Afghan-Pakistan border, and that the U.S. military had been tracking him “for a while.”
Although the U.S. said Osmani was an associate of bin Laden, Omar and Afghan insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Collins said he didn’t know the last time Osmani had contact with any of the three.
More info to follow …
This is really good news if true. I wonder how they managed to actually kill a Taliban commander without blowing a wedding party to bits.
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“Errant U.S. bombs” had previously hit three Afghan weddings – in Mazar-i-Sharif on October 15th; in Niazi Qalaye on December 29th; and in Bal Khel village on May 17th in 2002.
A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States’ Aerial Bombing of Afghanistan
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
By the way, Oui, I missed you while you were gone. I’m thrilled that you’re posting here again. You have yourself a merry little… well, you know. 🙂
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before the November elections, and I just didn’t have the time to write.
I’m glad many friends are still around, I do miss those who have started their own blog or have just taken a break. I’ll try to do my part to add some international flavor to the site.
I hope the Busjevics will spend some time and money on domestic issues and pull back their drive for international intervention and pre-emption.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
I’ll believe this when I see some kind of evidence besides a Pentagon press release. I also note that two other men died in this attack as well.
Good to see you around Oui
Pax