U.S. forces launched an airstrike on a house in Ghazni province where a council of Taliban commanders was meeting on Monday night, the Associated Press reported.

Twelve Taliban leaders were killed including Abdullah, the commander of Qarabagh district in Ghazni, AP said on Tuesday, citing Ghazni provincial police chief Ali Shah Ahmadzai.

Abdullah was believed to have planned and carried out the kidnappings of the Korean missionaries on July 19.

Abdullah was directly and indirectly in contact with press around the world during the hostage crisis, including Korean media.

According to the Afghan government, at least four other Taliban leaders who were involved in the kidnappings have been killed this month, including Mullah Mateen, a commander under Abdullah.

Two of the hostages were killed by the kidnappers. The remaining 21 were released.

Meanwhile, Mehra Juddin Patan, the governor of Ghazni province who spoke for the Afghan government during the hostage crisis, was dismissed on Tuesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai reproached Patan for embarrassing Afghanistan by allowing the Taliban to hold a press conference after face-to-face talks to release the hostages with a Korean government representative.

(englishnews@chosun.com )