September 18, 2007 -- The police chief of Afghanistan's Ghazni Province says an air strike by U.S.-led coalition forces has killed the Taliban commander who orchestrated the kidnapping of 23 South Korean Christian aid workers in July.
Police General Ali Shah Ahmadzai said Mullah Abdullah Jan, the Taliban commander of Ghazni's Qara Bagh district, was one of 12 Taliban killed by the overnight attack.
The U.S.-led coalition confirmed that an operation in Ghazni Province killed "several" suspected militants and captured four. But the coalition was unable to immediately confirm that Jan was killed.
Officials in Kabul said earlier that police had killed another commander behind in the kidnappings -- Mullah Mateen.
On September 16, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said police had killed three other Taliban commanders who allegedly were involved in the abductions.
Taliban militants killed two of the kidnapped aid workers and released the remaining hostages last month.
(AP, AFP)
RFE/RL Afghanistan Report
RFE/RL Afghanistan Report
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