Top Taliban Commander killed

Top Taliban Commander killed in Afghanistan. -
August 30, 2007

Mullah Berader, a top Taliban commander, was killed early this morning in a U.S. air strike in volatile Helmand province, a senior Afghan general tells ABC News.

A convoy of British troops and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers was traveling through Salwan Qala district when they came under attack by Taliban forces, said Gen. Ghulam Mohiauddin Ghoori, the commander of ANA ground troops for Helmand.

Amid an intense firefight, the British troops called in air support. American warplanes struck the Taliban positions, causing dozens of casualties, said Gen. Ghoori. Among the dead, his men on the ground confirmed, was Mullah Berader.

In Kabul, the Defense Ministry also confirmed the report, saying Berader was killed in a pre-dawn raid.

Berader, also known colloquially as Mullah Brother, was close to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. His death will come as a major blow to the Taliban hierarchy and follows the deaths of senior commander Mullah Dadullah Lang in May and the arrest of Defense Minister Mullah Obaidullah in Quetta, Pakistan in March. Many believed Berader succeeded Obaidullah as defense minister, though his exact rank was in dispute.

OUR ESTIMATE IS HE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO PULL PRESSURE OFF TORA BORA, Malawa valley AREA WITH NEW ATTACKS ELSE WHERE.

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