LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban key commander Mawlawi Atiqullah was among 12 killed after aircrafts pounded militants' positions in Garmsir district of the southern Helmand province on early Thursday, said a statement of provincial government released here.
The strike was conducted when the militants were busy to organize attacks on government interests, according to the statement.
Taliban militants have not commented.
Poppy-growing Helmand province has been the scene of bloody fighting between Taliban and government forces over the past couple of years and the militants have been pushing to overrun the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, a key city in southern region of Afghanistan.