HANOI/KABUL, 16 Sha'ban,1437 AH, 23 May,2016 , SPA -- U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that the leader of the Afghan Taliban had been killed in an American air strike, an attack likely to trigger another leadership tussle in a militant movement already riven by internal divisions, Reuters reported. Obama, who started a three-day visit to Vietnam on Monday, reiterated support for the government in Kabul and Afghan security forces, and called on the Taliban to join peace talks. The president authorised the drone strike that killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote region just within the Pakistan side of the border with Afghanistan on Saturday, and Afghan authorities have said the mission was successful. Obama said in a statement that Mansour had rejected peace talks and had "continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces". "The Taliban should seize the opportunity to pursue the only real path for ending this long conflict - joining the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability," he said. -- SPA 10:39 LOCAL TIME 07:39 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w