U.S. airstrike kills Taliban shadow governor for Kunduz

A Taliban shadow governor for Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province has been killed along with 16 other militants following a U.S. airstrike, said the National Directorate for Security, the country intelligence agency, on Wednesday.

“Taliban shadow governor Mawlawi Salam, along with his deputy and 15 other Taliban got killed in an airstike in Kunduz,” the NDS statement read.

The statement said the air attack was conducted with close coordination with the NDS; however, it did not disclose the exact time of the raid.

A Taliban spokesman rejects the death of their shadow governor for Kunduz in a tweet.

The attack came two days after Taliban took full control of the provincial capital Kunduz city, some 250 km north of Kabul.

On Tuesday, thousands of Afghan forces prepared to retake the city while the U.S. forces conducted at least two airstrikes on Taliban positions on the outskirts of the strategically important city.

The Taliban have intensified attacks over the past couple of months as the Afghan security forces assumed the full security responsibilities from NATO-led troops since Jan. 1.