Top Taliban Commander Killed In Southern Afghanistan
KABUL, August 30, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- A senior Taliban commander has been killed in a recent air strike by U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reported today.
The air strike was in Sarwan Qala -- between the districts of Sangin and Musa Qala in Helmand Province.
The commander, known as Mullah Berader, was a top military commander for the Taliban government until its removal from power in late 2001. Berader also was a member of the Taliban leadership council, which is headed by the Taliban's fugitive spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Berader is considered to be the second major commander of the Taliban after Mullah Dadullah, who was killed during NATO operations in May.
In other news, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan announced that a British soldier and his Afghan interpreter were killed today while on a routine patrol near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. The ISAF gave no more details.
(with material from agency reports)