Bishmullah was a senior key facilitator and logistician responsible for the Northern Helmand region. He is believed to have commanded numerous fighters and was identified by Task Force Helmand as a key player in the insurgency, and criminality, before the strike.
He was killed in a firefight in Now Zad in the early hours of Saturday, 12 July 2008, just 15 days after Sadiqullah, another senior Taliban facilitator was killed in an Apache missile strike.
Bishmullah's death will reduce the Taliban's ability to conduct operations against coalition forces, and in particular, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, while also denting the Taliban leadership structure, which had recently been instructed to reorganise and improve. It will also decrease their ability to disrupt the rule of law being extended across Helmand by the Afghan Government.
This latest success demonstrates that British Forces in Helmand are effectively carry out intelligence-led operations against the Taliban leadership in the area. The operation was mounted as part of NATO's ongoing campaign against the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan.
"Combined with the elimination of Sadiqullah, this is the most significant blow struck against the Taliban logistics and facilitation chain in Northern Helmand this year."
Lieutenant Colonel Robin Matthews
Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Robin Matthews said:
"Combined with the elimination of Sadiqullah, this is the most significant blow struck against the Taliban logistics and facilitation chain in Northern Helmand this year.
"It should provide a clear and simple message to the Taliban, if you are working to undermine the efforts of the Afghan government, or you are targeting our troops or Afghan civilians, you will be found and you will be stopped."
UK troops are in Afghanistan as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), to establish the secure environment necessary for reconstruction and development to take place. ISAF, in turn, is in Afghanistan at the invitation of the democratically elected Afghan Government and with UN authorisation, to provide the secure environment necessary for reconstruction and development to take place.