Infamous Taliban Leader Killed In Pakistan

Mullah Ismail Revered By Militants For Shooting Down U.S. Chinook In 2005, Killing 16 Special Forces

(CBS)  This story was written by CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals in London, and Sami Yousafzai, reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan.

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A senior Taliban commander who became a hero to Islamic militants for his role in shooting down a U.S. helicopter in 2005, killing all 16 special forces troops aboard, has been killed by Pakistani security forces, officials and Taliban militants tell CBS News.

Mullah Ismail, a notorious Taliban commander from the Afghan province of Kunar, was killed in a shootout with Pakistani police as he traveled with a kidnapped trader, a local police officer said Wednesday. He was apparently on his way into the lawless Northwest Frontier Province along the Afghan border.

Officer Mukarma Khan said Ismail, also known as Mullah Ahmad Shah, had kidnapped the trader from a camp for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and was trying to transport him back to the border when he failed to stop at the checkpoint. He apparently opened fire on the police and was killed in the following exchange of gunfire.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the death of the key commander and said he was a prominent Taliban figure in the area.

Abdul Jalal Jalal, chief of police in Afghanistan's Kunar province, where Ismail was based, told CBS News that he was also aware about the militant's death in Pakistan. He described him as the "most wanted terrorist in Kunar province."

A Taliban sub-commander in Kunar province, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not confirm the killing. But he told CBS News Ismail's death "would be a full-scale blow." He praised Ismail for the shooting down of the Chinook in 2005.

Ismail was also said to be a key facilitator of al Qaeda militants in the region - many of whom come from outside southeast Asia and do not speak the local languages. According to Taliban sources, Osama bin Laden personally honored Ismail's authority in the area after the Chinook attack in a letter sent through an intermediary.

Police chief Jalal said Ismail and the militants under his command were behind many attacks on NATO, U.S. and Afghan forces in the northeastern part of Afghanistan.

Ismail became a hero for al Qaeda and the Taliban after his group hit a U.S. Navy MH-47 Chinook helicopter in late June 2005, apparently with a shoulder-fired rocket. The helicopter was one of four aircraft ferrying special forces into the area on a reconnaissance mission.

It was considered a lucky shot from an inaccurate weapon; but it left eight Navy SEALs and eight Army air crew from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment dead. Read report from June 30, 2005.

It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the invasion to topple the Taliban in 2001.

The Chinook was shot down as it ferried troops into the region to search for four Navy SEALs who had gone missing in the area in late June. Three of the men were found dead, but one, who was wounded, managed to escape - read report from July 3, 2005 - to a local home, where he was hidden from the Taliban and eventually rescued by U.S. forces.

On Wednesday, Afghan shepherd Gulab Khan, who says he's the one who saved the life of the only surviving SEAL, told CBS News that Mullah Ismail attacked his village the day after the helicopter was shot down, searching for any survivors.

Khan said he protected the SEAL, but his actions brought death threats from Ismail and his militants, which prompted the shepherd to relocate his entire family to the provincial capital. He described Ismail as the most powerful militant in Kunar province.

[taylors229]

I hope everyone that posts here realizes that those men killed on the helicopter died for the one thing they loved most, their country. My husband died that day because of this mans lucky shot. This isn''t about Bush or Clinton it''s about right and wrong and what these people are doing to each other is wrong. Their attacks on American soil are wrong and they must know that we will not sit by and accept being attacked. My husband died so you can blog, died for your freedom of speech, died because he loved complete strangers enough to give his life to save his brothers being killed by cowards in the mountains of Asadabad. So next time you post, remember those 16 men killed on the helicopter and the three killed on the ground had wives, mothers, children and that they died for each other and their belief that we all deserve to live free!

[libsrweak]

Will Jimmy Carter attend the funeral?

Posted by Glock4me at 12:56 PM : Apr 17, 2008
+ report abuse

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not only is he attending but he is hoping to be the first one to torch the american flag at the "barking at the moon'' ceremony

[libsrweak]

Tell it to the evangelicals. They screech hate for the joy of it....


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Posted by FloydZepp at 07:22 AM : Apr 17, 2008
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why?? all those screeching gives you a bad case of ''guilt''?

[glock4me]

Will Jimmy Carter attend the funeral?

[glock4me]

More bad news for B. Hussein Osama.

[swwils]

Alright now drag him through the streets like the war lords in Somalia did our Rangers back in the 90''s,and Clinton did nothing except withdraw.That pissed me off I was in Special Forces,Green Beret 10th group.We were on full alert,but nothing happened.We caught one of the war lords we were after,but we should have unleashed a mass air assault,and tossed about 20 cruise missiles into down town Mogadishu,and told them"How do you like those apples".Too much collateral damage my a.s.s.

Posted by FloydZepp at 07:22 AM : Apr 17, 2008: Tell it to the evangelicals. They screech hate for the joy of it....

Sorry but blaming someone else doesn''t absolve you for your part in hate mongering....

[watcher269-2009]

To all those who post nasty cruel ugly words, innuendoes, and false accusations here...they will be waiting for you in eternity where every idle word will be judged. What goes around, comes around. The same harsh judgement you use against others will be used to judge you.

Posted by andersonk49

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So, does this mean that Bush is going to Helll? I bet Bush is BEGGING the Pope for forgiveness! That''s why he''s throwing the Pope a Party!

Bush is trying to BUY his way into Heaven from the Pope!

Wow, A Fascist Begging a Nazi for Forgiveness!

This has got to be a New one for the History Books!

[brianbwb-2009]

"I guess that makes the terrorists one step above neocons." Posted by Rafterman1

You make a point that the neocons don''t want to acknowledge, the suicide bombers do accept the immediate consequence of their actions, death. They believe their death will help those left behind in their struggle.

The Neocons, on the other hand, believe their struggle to be worth breaking any law, treaty, or human consideration that gets in the way of their agenda, but will do anything they can to avoid responsibility, they are afraid to face the consequences of their actions.

Between the two, the suicide bombers show the greater honor, and because they believe so strongly in their rightness, they will eventually win.

To all those who post nasty cruel ugly words, innuendoes, and false accusations here...they will be waiting for you in eternity where every idle word will be judged. What goes around, comes around. The same harsh judgement you use against others will be used to judge you.