[Quqnoos] A local Taliban commander and four Arab insurgents were killed Monday in an airstrike in Helmand province, an official said.The Taliban commander described as a facilitator to foreign insurgents in Helmand's Washir district, north of Nad Ali, a key Taliban bastion where a major anti-Taliban offensive enters its fourth day.
Serajuddin, a key Taliban commander, and four Arab insurgents associated to the Taliban were killed in an airstrike in Washir, said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for Helmand Governor.
Commander Serajuddin was a Taliban district chief in Helmand's neighbouring province of Farah during the Taliban regime that was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2001.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said no Taliban operatives were killed in Washir and he characterised the deaths as civilians.