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Senior Taliban Commander Killed in Airstrike in Northern Afghanistan - Defence Ministry

KABUL (Sputnik) - The Taliban designated governor for the northern Afghan province of Samangan was killed in an airstrike on Sunday, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.
Sputnik

"Mullah Nooruddin, the nominated governor of Taliban for Samangan, was killed in an airstrike in Tucson village of Dara-e-Souf Payne district this morning," the ministry said in a statement.

No civilian casualties were reported as only the vehicle carrying Nooruddin had been targeted, a source said.

Taliban, however, deny the governor's death, claiming that he is alive.

Last week US President Donald Trump said he had cancelled secret peace talks with the Taliban at the Camp David presidential retreat after the Taliban had admitted to staging an attack in which a US soldier was killed. Following the collapse of talks with Washington, a Taliban delegation arrived in Moscow to discuss the possible withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.     

Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban movement and Daesh* terrorist group. The national security forces, supported by the international coalition, are involved in counterterrorism operations across the country.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia

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