Top Taliban commander Dadullah killed in clash

Kabul May 13 (UNI) In a big setback to Taliban, top insurgent commander in Afghanistan, Mullah Dadullah, was killed in an operation by US-led coalition forces in the southern province of Helmand.

NATO-led ISAF confirmed that the top insurgent was killed yesterday and claimed it to be the ''first significant military victory'' against Taliban.

Afghan National Security Forces also assisted in the operation.

The one-legged Dadullah has been reported to have been captured or killed several times in the past, but this time the authorities appeared sure he was dead.

The operation came in a series of pitched battles which has seen control of several districts of Southern Afghanistan change hands between the Taliban and the government forces.

The international forces have in recent weeks been in the news for all the wrong reasons with their operations inflicting severe civilian casualties.

The operation came close on the heels of an offer made by local officials to hold talks with the Taliban. A local news agency Pajhwok had reported that the Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa had expressed his willingness for open-ended peace talks with all homegrown Taliban on Thursday.

The news agency had also reported that the governor was accompanied by a number of officials including NATO commanders and provincial council members.

Last week the upper house of Afghanistan's parliament passed a resolution calling for talks with the Taliban, a cessation of operations and a date for the withdrawal of international troops.

All military operations, they stated, should be carried out only when necessary and after consulting the Afghan government.

Though the bill may not become law if President Karzai vetoes it, the bill was significant in that it reflected the increasing disenchantment with the international military forces.

The killing of Dadullah will ease the pressure on both NATO and the US troops as well as President Karzai.

NATO-led ISAF issued a statement which said : Mullah Dadullah Lang is reported to have been the military commander of the Taliban insurgents. He has been responsible for the deaths of many Afghans through many means to include the suicide bombers he has trained in his sanctuary and subsequently deployed into Afghanistan. Dadullah Lang will most certainly be replaced in time, but the insurgency has received a serious blow.

UNI