Obama confirms death of Taliban leader Mansoor

KABUL, May 23, 2016 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan man reads the news of Taliban leader's death on a local newspaper in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, May 23, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a U.S. airstrike. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a U.S. airstrike. "We have removed the leader of an organization that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and coalition forces, to wage war against the Afghan people, and align itself with extremist groups like al-Qaida," said Obama in a statement. Obama said that as the Taliban leader, Mansoor rejected efforts made by the Afghan government "to seriously engage in peace talks and end the violence that has taken the lives of countless innocent Afghan men, women and children." The airstrike against Mansoor was launched on Saturday in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, according to a Pentagon statement. Mansoor had been an aide to Taliban's iconic longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and a Taliban transportation minister. He emerged as the Taliban leader in 2015 after the news broke that Omar had died in 2013. Related: Obama confirms death of Taliban leader Mansoor HANOI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday the death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a statement issued in Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Monday. "Today marks an important milestone in our longstanding effort to bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan. With the death of Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, we have removed the leader of an organization that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces, to wage war against the Afghan people, and align itself with extremist groups like al-Qaida," Obama said in the statement. Full story