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Head of ISIS in Afghanistan Abdul Hasib Killed: Government | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A member of Afghanistan’s special forces observes the enemy lines in Achin district of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. – Reuters


ISIS leader in Afghanistan, Abdul Hasib, has been killed as stated by the Afghan government on Sunday.

President Ashraf Ghani said that Hasib was killed in a raid in the early hours of last Thursday.

The operation was led by special forces in the eastern province of Nangarhar, during which two US army Rangers were killed, but there was no confirmation.

Hasib was appointed last year following the death of his predecessor Hafiz Saeed Khan during a raid by US and Afghan special forces.

He is believed to have ordered a series of high profile attacks including one in March on the main military hospital in Kabul by a group of militants disguised as doctors, a statement said.

A US-Afghan army statement issued following the operation said troops had been involved in an ‘intense’ three-hour firefight.

“Within a few minutes of landing, our combined force came under intense fire from multiple directions and well-prepared fighting positions. – Nevertheless, our forces successfully closed on the enemy, killed several high-level ISIS leaders and upwards of 35 militants,” the statement said.

The local affiliate of ISIS, known as ISIS Khorasan (IS-K), has been active since 2015, fighting both the Taliban as well as Afghan and US forces.

US and Afghan special forces have waged a series of operations against IS-K this year, killing dozens of their militants, mainly in Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan.