Report: Taliban intelligence chief killed in U.S. bombardment

KABUL, Afghanistan - The intelligence chief of Afghanistan&#39;s deposed Taliban militia died in American bombardment in the eastern part of the country last week, a government official confirmed Wednesday. <br> <br> Qari Ahmadullah was among 25 people killed in Naka, in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, on Dec. 27 when U.S. planes attacked a house where he was staying with his associates, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press agency reported. <br> <br> In Kabul, Abdullah Tawheedi, a deputy intelligence minister for the interim government, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. <br> <br> Witnesses at the Pakistani border town of Miran Shah told Afghan Islamic Press that Ahmadullah&#39;s brother and two close associates were also among those killed. It said the strike hit a house belonging to Maulvi Taahaa, a former Taliban commander in Paktika province. Taahaa&#39;s fate was unclear. <br> <br> The U.S.-led coalition had identified Ahmadullah as one of the Taliban leaders it was trying to capture. <br> <br> Ahmadullah, 40, was also an influential Taliban commander in the northern Afghan province of Takhar. <br> <br> <br>