Akhtar Mohammad Osmani

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Image:Osmani.jpg
An undated photo of Osmani; distributed by the Department of Defense

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani (died December 19, 2006)[1] was a senior leader of the Taliban, treasurer for the organization,[2] and close associate of Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Omar. He was involved in the demolition of the Buddhas of Bamyan.[3] Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, once referred to him as one of the four most dangerous Taliban members still in Afghanistan.[4]

On December 2006, as he was riding in a four-wheel drive vehicle in Helmand Province, Osmani was killed by a smart bomb in a United States Air Force airstrike;[3] he had been tracked down by a Royal Air Force airplane which monitored his satellite phone.[2] Spokesmen of the Taliban initially denied his death.[5] However, several days later other top Taliban officials confirmed his death.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Bin Laden's "close associate" killed in southern Afghanistan", Yahoo! News, 2006-12-23. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. 
  2. ^ a b Smith, Michael. "Taliban leader ‘killed’ after RAF tracks phone", The Sunday Times, 2006-12-24. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. 
  3. ^ a b "Bin Laden associate killed, U.S. says", Yahoo! News, 2006-12-23. Retrieved on 2006-12-23.  (Link dead as of 20:58, 14 January 2007 (UTC))
  4. ^ Afghanistan: The Broadening Border War. StrategyWorld.com (2006-04-28). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  5. ^ "U.S.: Top bin Laden associate killed", CNN.com, 2006-12-23. Retrieved on 2006-12-24. 
  6. ^ "Taliban official admits U.S. strike killed military chief", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006-12-27. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 


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