Top Taliban commander killed in Helmand airstrike

A leading Taliban militant has been killed in southern Afghanistan, following a joint operation between Afghan and US forces, officials said on Sunday.

Abdul Manan was the Taliban's 'shadow governor' in the southern Helmand province and was killed during an airstrike - along with 29 others - late Saturday, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the official governor of the province.

Afghanistan's interior ministry said that 32 other Taliban fighters were also killed in the airstrike.

His death was confirmed by Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, describing it as a "big loss" for the group but the militants vowed it will not affect their military operations.

The US also said Manan was killed in the air strike, according to Reuters, and said the commander's death will be a major set-back for the Taliban.

"They're going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault. Peace talks are the only solution," Col Dave Butler, spokesman for US Forces in Afghanistan said, according to the agency.

Washington has made overtures to the Taliban about a possible peaceful end to war, which has raged since the 2001 US-led invasion of the country.

Talks have been held in Qatar between US and Taliban officials.

Helmand supplies the largest share of Afghanistan's opium crop and has been the scene of bitter fighting for years with much of the province controlled by the Taliban.

Manan led the Taliban's expansion into the region in recent years.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said Manan was the militants' top military leader in southern Afghanistan and shared the US' sentiments about this being a major blow for the Taliban.

"His death will lower the moral of the enemy, and result in (the) improvement of security in Helmand and other southern provinces," Najib Danish told AFP.

Abdul Manan was on the blacklist unveiled mid-October by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which imposed financial sanctions on nine individuals, including six Taliban members.

Agencies contributed to this story.