Kabul, Sep 18 (Xinhua) One of the Taliban commanders responsible for the kidnapping of 23 South Koreans was killed in central Afghanistan, the police said Tuesday.
Troops carried out an air raid to destroy a guerrilla hideout in Giro district of Ghazni province Monday night, killing Mullah Abdullah Jan and 11 other Taliban militants, provincial police chief Ali Shah Ahmadzai said.
Jan and another Taliban commander Mullah Mateen were the two key abductors of the South Koreans.
Mateen and another 15 Taliban militants were killed by troops on Sep 3, in Qarabagh district of Ghazni.
Taliban rebels in Qarabagh district kidnapped the South Koreans on July 19. Two of the hostages were executed, while the others were released.
Over 4,500 people, mostly Taliban militants, have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of this ye