TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A local official in northern Afghanistan said Thursday that a key commander of the Taliban militants has been killed following a special operation late Wednesday night.

"Qari Mohammadullah, known as Zaid the commander of a 70-member Taliban fighters, was killed along with one of his bodyguards in Sarai-e-Sang area outside the northern Takhar's provincial capital Taluqan city on Wednesday night," Mohammad Jawad Hajari, the provincial governor's spokesman, told Xinhua.

The killed Taliban commander was involved in several subversive activities, including planning to capture Taluqan city last month, the official said, adding Zaid's death could prove a major setback to the Taliban militants in Takhar and the neighboring Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces.

The Taliban group has not immediately commented on the report.