Nangyalay split from the main branch of the Taliban after the 2013 death of founder Mullah Omar and joined a smaller breakaway faction led by a commander known as Mullah Rasool. A senior provincial police source said the airstrike had been carried out by a US drone. Resolute Support, NATO's mission in Afghanistan, told AFP their forces had launched "a defensive air strike in support of Afghan forces", with a spokesman confirming US participation in the operation.

The main Taliban group has been negotiating with Washington for more than a year over the withdrawal of US troops in exchange for security guarantees from the militants that could pave the way to intra-Afghan peace talks.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020