Taliban leader killed in US airstrike

— -- A Taliban leader once known as a shadow governor of an Afghanistan province has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, U.S. forces in that country said.

Quari Tayib, at one time known as the Taliban shadow governor of Takhar Province, was killed in an airstrike in Archi District, Kunduz Province, Afghanistan on Apr. 17, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said in a press release Saturday morning.

"Tayib had been a target of interest since 2011 and was directly responsible for the deaths of U.S. service members in Afghanistan," the release said. "Eight additional Taliban fighters were killed in the strike."

The airstrike was part of what the military described as ongoing efforts to deny Taliban freedom of movement in the area, release said, adding that it targeted a compound Tayib owned and used for insurgents in the area.