Who was Mullah Mansour? U.S. Strike Kills Afghan Taliban Leader    Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, was killed by a U.S. drone strike on May 21. President Obama called Mansour's death “an important milestone,” and said that the U.S. had “removed the leader of an organization that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and coalition forces.”