Afghan forces seek to press Taliban by targeting field commanders

FILE PHOTO - U.S. military advisers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade work with Afghan soldiers at an artillery position on an Afghan National Army base in Maidan Wardak province, Afghanistan August 6, 2018. Picture taken August 6, 2018. REUTERS/James Mackenzie

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan forces, backed by U.S. advisers and air power, are targeting Taliban field commanders seen as a major obstacle to possible peace talks, as they step up military pressure on the insurgents, security officials said.

Abdul Manan, the shadow Taliban governor of the strategic province of Helmand and the insurgents' top military commander in the south, was killed in a joint operation by U.S. and Afghan special forces on Dec. 2.