HANOI (SW): Calling the Mullah Mansour’s death as “an important milestone,” US President Obama has said that Mansour rejected efforts by the Afghan government to seriously engage in peace talks and end the violence that has taken the lives of countless innocent Afghan men, women and children.
In a statement, released just as he was meeting with top officials in Vietnam, Obama said the Taliban should seize the opportunity to pursue the only real path for ending this long conflict — joining the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability.”
At a news conference with President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam, Mr. Obama said that targeting Mullah Mansour did not represent a shift in strategy for the United States mission in Afghanistan.
An American drone strike in a restive province of Pakistan killed Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the leader of the AfghanTaliban, the White House confirmed on Monday.
“We are not re-entering the day-to-day combat operations that are currently being conducted by Afghanistan forces,” Obama said. “He is an individual who as head of the Taliban was specifically targeting U.S. personnel and troops inside of Afghanistan who are there as part of the mission I have set to maintain a counterterrorism platform and provide assistance,” Obama said.
The strike was the first such American drone attack in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan, which is the de facto headquarters of the Afghan Taliban. Nearly all other drone strikes have taken place in other Pakistani and Afghan areas.
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