An American drone strike targeted and "likely killed" Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote area of Pakistan, US officials said, in a major and rare American military raid in the country.
The United States informed both Pakistan and Afghanistan shortly after the strike, a senior White House official said, according to AFP.
News of the strike came as US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel made a surprise visit to northern Syria to witness efforts to build up local forces in the fight against the "Islamic State" (ISIS) terrorist group.