Head of Daesh in Afghanistan killed

During a joint raid on April 27, US and Afghan troops killed Abdul Hasib, head of Daesh Khorasan. He was appointed last year after his predecessor died in a US drone strike.

The join raid also killed 35 Daesh fighters and several high ranking commanders, said US military in Kabul.
TRT World and Agencies

The join raid also killed 35 Daesh fighters and several high ranking commanders, said US military in Kabul.

The head of Daesh in Afghanistan, Abdul Hasib, was killed in an operation on April 27 conducted jointly by Afghan and US Special Forces in the eastern province of Nangarhar, US and Afghan officials said on Sunday.

Hasib was appointed last year after his predecessor Hafiz Saeed Khan died in a US drone strike.

He is believed to have ordered a series of high profile attacks including one on March 8 on the main military hospital in Kabul.

TRT World's Bilal Sarwary reports from Afghanistan.

"This successful joint operation is another important step in our relentless campaign to defeat ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan) in 2017," the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson said in a statement from US military headquarters in Kabul.

It said 35 Daesh fighters and several high ranking commanders were killed in the April 27 raid.

The statement, following an earlier announcement by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said Hasib directed the March 8 attack on the main Kabul military hospital by a group of militants disguised as doctors.

Dozens of medical staff and patients were killed in the attack.

The local affiliate of Daesh, sometimes known as Daesh Khorasan has been active since 2015, fighting both the Taliban as well as Afghan and US forces.

It is believed to maintain links with the main Daesh movement in Iraq and Syria but has considerable operational independence.

Defeating the group remains one of the top US priorities in Afghanistan and last month the US dropped its largest non-nuclear device on a network of caves and tunnels used by Daesh in Nangarhar, killing 94 fighters, including four commanders.

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