Schools closing Taliban leader killed

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): A Taliban commander, who ordered all schools closed in the Haskamina district of eastern Nangarhar province, has been killed in a US drone strike, an official said on Monday.

The commander had ordered closed 28 schools in the town over the past one week to put pressure on the government to release his detained brother.

However, the commander named Aimal was killed last night in a US drone attack in the Gurguri area, 301st zone border police commander Mohammad Ayub Hussainkhel told Pajhwok Afghan News. Aimal was killed along with three accomplices in the incident, he said.

Hussainkhel said the slain commander had few days ago invited tribal elders to warn them against sending their children to school.

“Aimal was an active commander in the area and had been involved in direct engagements with security forces.”

A resident of the district, Rabbani Shinwari, told Pajhwok Afghan News the slain Taliban commander had closed all schools in the district. He said tribal elders had many times visited Aimal to allow the schools to be reopened, but he would instead threaten them.

He said intelligence officials had detained Aimal’s brother Abdul Khaliq and Aimal had threatened the government that he would not allow the schools to be reopened until his brother was released.

Nangarhar police spokesman Col. Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal confirmed commander Aimal alias Yasir had been killed in a drone strike late on Sunday night.

He also said security forces detained seven suspected insurgents during an operation in the Chaparhar district last night. The detainees were being grilled, he said.

The Taliban have so far said nothing about the death of their commander in the drone strike.

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