US drone attack kills senior IS leader

Last year, the militant group expelled its spokesman Shahidullah Shahid after he along with five other group commanders announced their allegiance to the Islamic State (IS).

Quoting the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Afghanistan, TOLONews reported that Shahidullah Shahid was killed in a recent airstrike in eastern Nangarhar province.

An Afghan government delegation met with Taliban officials in the Pakistani capital for the first time on Tuesday, in a significant effort to open formal peace negotiations, according to Afghan, Pakistani and Western officials.

“”All of these strikes were conducted against individuals threatening US and coalition forces”, a spokesman said”.

For years, Shahid was the chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, frequently appearing in media reports to take credit for some of Pakistan’s grisliest terrorist attacks. “When the dust settles, the much-hailed talks will be revealed as nothing more than Pakistan delivering a few individuals from the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) to speak in their personal capacity”, Taliban’s Voice of Jihad website wrote in an editorial on Thursday.

Also known as Sheikh Maqbool Orakzai, he hailed from Orakzai tribal region of Pakistan and was wanted for several cases of terrorism in the country. “We remain in touch with the Afghan authorities and we can see strong desire on their part to promote the peace process.” he added. Bordering areas inside Pakistan, Nangarhar is one of the provinces where ISIL fighters are most active.

In a statement, Ghani described the talks as a “first step towards reaching peace”. Both U.S and Afghan military commanders have said they are searching for him.

He warned that there are still obstacles to the talks, including elements on both sides who oppose the talks and the threat of the Taliban splintering, with fighters potentially joining a new grouping of ex- Taliban militants who claim to represent the Syria-based militant group Daesh.

There have been several informal meetings between the Taliban and Afghan officials at venues outside Afghanistan in recent months as Kabul seeks a negotiated end to the insurgents’ 13-year fight, but little in the way of concrete progress.