Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan has confirmed that a coalition air strike on Dec. 19 killed senior Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani. The strike utilized intelligence that placed him in a deserted area near the Pakistan border, targeting his vehicle and killing Osmani and two unidentified associates. According to a coalition spokesman, Osmani was a close associate of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban’s chief of military operations in key Afghanistan provinces.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.

