Senior Afghan Taliban Commander Killed in Air Strike, Officials Say

Mullah Abdul Manan Neyazi, a deputy of Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund, the newly appointed leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, addresses a gathering of supporters at Bakwah in the western province of Farah on Nov. 3, 2015. Javed Tanveer/AFP/Getty Images

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan—A top commander of the Taliban has been killed in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand in a joint operation by Afghan and U.S. Special Forces, Afghan officials and Taliban members said on Dec. 2.

Abdul Manan, who was in charge of Helmand Province, was killed along with 29 others by an air strike on Saturday while he was meeting local commanders and fighters in the Nawzad District, Helmand provincial Gov. Mohammad Yasin Khan said.