NATO says it has killed a top Taliban commander for southern Afghanistan’s largest city

NATO says Taliban commander in south killed

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — NATO and Afghan troops have killed a top Taliban commander for southern Afghanistan’s largest city, NATO forces said Friday.

The allied forces had been tracking Mullah Zergay for several weeks and launched an assault to capture him at a safe house in Zhari district of Kandahar province last week, NATO said in a statement. The raid sparked a gunbattle, and Zergay was killed in the fighting along with several of his guards.

NATO called Zergay “the top Taliban commander” for the area around Kandahar city, saying he was responsible for attacks in both Argandab and Zhari districts.

Resident generally saw Zergay as one of a small group of leaders who oversaw Taliban operations in and around the city.

He was known for bomb attacks and NATO says he was “directly responsible for multiple deaths in Kandahar city alone.”

The area in and around Kandahar city is the target of a summer push to squeeze the Taliban out of their strongholds in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban have launched a counter-offensive with a string of attacks on high-profile NATO installations around the country in recent weeks, and a ongoing campaign of assassinations of pro-government leaders in and around Kandahar city.