Senior Taliban commanders killed in Afghan airstrike in Kunduz

An Afghan airstrike targeting a gathering of Taliban representatives in the northern province of Kunduz has caused multiple casualties, officials and local residents say.

According to Press TV, top Taliban commanders were gathered inside a madrassa (religious school) at the time of the attack, a security source told AFP on Monday.

The security source added that the casualties included senior Taliban commanders who were "planning for the next spring operations."

Meanwhile, Abdul Hameed Hameedi, a local police official, said at least 15 people were killed after the aerial raid hit the Taliban in the militant-controlled district of Dasht-i Archi outside Kunduz city.

Hameedi added that a representative from the Taliban leadership council based in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta was visiting when the airstrike took place.

He said there also appeared to be civilian casualties.

Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, confirmed the strike but denied civilians were among the casualties. He said twenty Taliban militants, including a commander and a key member of the militant group’s leadership council, were killed in the attack.

Afghanistan’s Tolo News channel has put the death toll at 25, saying the number of casualties resulting from the strike was probably much higher. 

SS