The US military in Afghanistan is claiming to have killed one of the Taliban's top four leaders in the country.
A statement said that Akhtar Mohammad Osmani and two other alleged militants were killed in an air strike in Helmand province, near the Pakistan border, last Tuesday.
The US said he was close to the Taliban leader in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and had links to Osama bin Laden.
However a Taliban spokesperson denied that Mr Osmani had been killed, saying the airstrike claimed a low-ranking commander and three others.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has more than 30,000 troops and another 10,000 US-led forces operating in the country.
Some 4,000 people have died in Taliban-led violence this year alone, making it Afghanistan's bloodiest year since the Taliban government was toppled by US-led forces in 2001.
Mr Osmani was arrested by coalition forces in July 2002 but was inadvertently released a few weeks later.
Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said his death was a major success for Afghan and foreign forces, but conceded that he could not confirm the death independently.
