KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — More than 100 relatives and tribal elders watched the Islamic burial of top Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, who was killed in a U.S.-led operation last month, the militia's new commander said.
Dadullah, whose body was handed over to relatives last week by the Afghan government, was buried in the Zod Shar neighborhood of Kandahar city, new Taliban commander Mansoor Dadullah, his brother, said by satellite phone.
The Taliban released four medical workers in exchange for Mullah Dadullah's body, which the government said it had buried in a secret location in Kandahar. The militants had already beheaded one medical worker and said they would kill the other four if the body wasn't released.
Mansoor Dadullah, who was named as his brother's replacement shortly after his death, said he was in touch with Al Qaeda's leadership in Afghanistan, and the two organizations shared fighters. Al Qaeda militants help train the Taliban, he added.