British forces kill leading Taliban figure in Afghanistan, MoD says

British forces have killed one of the most dangerous Taliban leaders in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today.

Mullah Mansur was killed by fire from an Apache helicopter in the early hours of Monday in an isolated area near Nahr-e Saraj, north-east of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, MoD officials said.

They said Mansur and a colleague, who was also killed, were on motorbikes at the time of the strike. Mansur is believed to be behind a number of suicide bombings against British and Afghan forces in and around Lashkar Gah.

They included two suicide attacks last month in Gereshk – one which killed Sergeant Ben Ross and Corporal Kumar Pun, and the second which killed 13 Afghan police and civilians and wounded 27.

Mansur is also said to be behind a suicide bombing on the Helmand police headquarters in March. Nine Afghan policemen and two civilians were killed and 28 people wounded in that attack.

British defence officials said the Taliban leader was known to have strong links to insurgent commanders from the Baloch tribe in southern Helmand and acted as the link between the insurgency there and in the centre of the province.

Lt Col Nick Richardson, spokesman for the British military mission in Helmand, said: "UK forces conducted a successful precision strike against one of the most dangerous men in Helmand, and what we consider to be the most dangerous man in the central area around Lashkar Gah."

He said Mansur supplied and constructed improvised explosive devices. "The attacks he helped plan and execute have probably killed or wounded hundreds of people, and most of them have been either Afghan civilians or police," Richardson said.

However, the attack came as British officials are increasingly coming round to the view that killing insurgents is not the answer to solving the many problems, including poverty, facing most Afghans.