The commander of ISIS-K, the terror group’s offshoot in Afghanistan, was killed in a joint U.S.-Afghan special-forces raid last month, both Pentagon and Afghan officials confirmed. The April 27 operation, in the eastern province of Nangarhar near the border with Pakistan, took out the leader, Abdul Hasib, and at least 35 other ISIS militants.
Hasib, a former Taliban member who switched allegiances, took over ISIS-K — which stands for Khorasan, an area that encompasses parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan — in July, after the previous leader, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was killed in a July air strike. Hasib still sowed chaos in his short tenure; officials believe he is behind a March attack on a Kabul military hospital, where ISIS detonated a suicide bomb as other militants dressed as doctors stormed the facility, killing about 50 people.
Two American Army rangers were also killed in the April raid. The Pentagon is investigating the cause of their deaths, though they may have been caught up in friendly fire; a three-hour gun battle erupted during the operation.
Afghan and U.S. forces carried out the raid that killed Hasib in the same area where the U.S dropped a 22,000-pound MOAB bomb — the largest nonnuclear bomb — on a cave complex used by hundreds of ISIS fighters, killing nearly 100 militants. These operations come as U.S. and Afghan forces have stepped up the offensive against ISIS-K in the eastern part of the country following that March 8 attack. CBS News reports that a recent 24-hour bombing campaign killed dozens of fighters and destroyed a radio station that broadcast ISIS propaganda. The ongoing campaign against ISIS-K has reduced its ranks in Afghanistan — down to about 700 fighters from 3,000, reports the New York Times.
Sources
Sources
- ISIS Leader Does Not Rule All Muslims, Pakistan Taliban Asserts
- Twin Suicide Bombings in Afghanistan Kill 29, Including Journalists
- Clashes across Afghanistan kill dozens of security force members, militants
- DR Congo police arrest sect leader after deadly raid
- Kashmiri terrorist got away 25 yrs ago, caught with ISKP chief in Afghanistan
- Terrorist caught in Afghanistan earlier this month was IS recruiter in Jammu and Kashmir
- Security is ramped up across the country in preparation for July 4 celebrations as fear of an attack by ISIS sympathizers grows
- Pak-backed terror module in Afghanistan that targeted India busted, 37 arrested
- ISIS terror attack in Brit holiday paradise Maldives as fanatics use incendiary bombs to blow up boats
- Pandemic or Not, the U.S. Can't Afford to Drop the Ball on Peace in Afghanistan | Opinion
- Fresh Afghan Fighting Kills Dozens of Combatants
- Brit ISIS rapper who loved selfies with decapitated heads snuck into Spain by boat posing as a desperate migrant
- Pakistan proxies in fight to the finish in Afghanistan, but India too needs to prep | Analysis
- Blast in Afghanistan's Jalalabad Leaves at Least 2 People Killed - Reports
- CIA Could Have Killed Bin Laden in 1990s, But Was Ordered Not to by President Clinton - Report
- Go on lads, get in there! With those words ringing in their ears, the SAS launched the embassy raid that stunned the world... told here, 40 years on, in the final part of our thrillingly detailed account
- Palm Sunday Bombings at Coptic Christian Churches in Egypt Kill at Least 40
- Plan to Privatize US War in Afghanistan Gets Icy Reception
- Al-Qaeda Leader Possibly Suffering Serious ‘Heart Complaint,’ US Intel Says
- Gunman kills 25 at Kabul Gurdwara in IS-claimed attack
Top ISIS Leader in Afghanistan Killed in Raid have 571 words, post on nymag.com at May 8, 2017. This is cached page on Talk Vietnam. If you want remove this page, please contact us.