Afghan leader of the Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a drone strike near the Pakistan border on Saturday, President of the United States Barack Obama confirmed on Monday. Although the Pentagon had earlier affirmed the mission, which was approved by Obama, it had not confirmed whether Mansour was killed in the strike. Afghan authorities confirmed the mission’s success, as well, Reuters reported.

Obama confirmed Mansour’s death while on a three-day visit to Vietnam. He reaffirmed US support for the Afghan government and security forces but clarified that the drone strike did not indicate that America would revert to active engagement in fighting in Afghanistan. America withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Obama also urging the Taliban to join peace talks, and said Mansour had refused to partake in peace talks and “continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and coalition forces”.

Mansour’s death is likely to trigger another battle for chiefdom within the Taliban. Although his deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani would be the strongest contender for the post, the extremist group does not always function on the basis of meritocracy, according to analysts.