US drone kills 26 Taliban in eastern Afghanistan: Official

An Afghan official says two U.S. drone strikes this week hit a building where dozens of Taliban were meeting in southeastern province of Ghazni

An Afghan official says two U.S. drone strikes this week hit a building where dozens of Taliban were meeting in southeastern province of Ghazni, killing 26 insurgents and wounding 22.

A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone sits at Kandahar Air base in Afghanistan on January 23, 2018. A squadron of A-10C 'Warthog' Thunderbolt IIs deployed to this sprawling airfield in southern Afghanistan last week. (AFP)

Arif Noori, a provincial spokesman, says the drone assault was carried out on Tuesday during an offensive in Ghazni province’s Andar district where the U.S. military came to the aid of Afghan security forces battling the Taliban.

He says among those killed was a senior commander, known only as Aqhani, who ran the insurgency in Ghazni province. The first U.S. drone strike hit the building, the second struck an hour later after more Taliban had gathered at the scene.