United States airstrike kills ISIL leader in Afghanistan

He used an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State group.

The July 26 strike took place in the Achin district of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Gordon Trowbridge in a statement. His death is believed to be a huge blow to the infamous terrorist organization in the region that is already awash with many extremist groups such as al Qaeda and Taliban.

“The freed men have reached Islamabad and will rejoin families”, the official said.

This undated file image posted on a militant website January 14, 2014 shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching through Raqqa, Syria. A similar claim surfaced a year ago from Afghan intelligence agents, but the report was never confirmed.

Last week, both the Taliban and IS took credit for an attack on a hospital in Quetta, southwest Pakistan, which left 74 dead.

“ISIS is increasingly on the defensive as it struggles to defend its shrinking caliphate in Iraq and Syria, so it has a strong incentive to show it’s still relevant by taking credit for something it didn’t do”, said Michael Kugelman, South Asia analyst for the Woodrow Wilson Center, a US -based think tank. He was formerly a commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but switched allegiance to the Middle-East based IS in October past year. Khan previously served as senior commander in the Pakistani Taliban. Earlier on Thursday, several TV channels claimed the crew have been rescued as some explained that these men had been handed over to Pakistan and were on their way home.

Last year, hundreds of insurgents fled to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan, where the military launched a campaign to clear militants from the lawless tribal regions in the country’s north.

History and prophecies aside, the attraction of South Asia for Islamic State is obvious enough, due to the many opportunities to recruit existing, well-armed fighters and bomb makers.

The Pentagon expects Khan’s death is expected to disrupt those activities and dash Islamic State’s hopes of expanding their operations and brand through central Asia. However, some residents in the area said the Taliban torched the chopper after it crashed.

The Pakistani military campaign also caused around 400 families loyal to the Islamic State group to flee to Afghanistan, Afghan authorities said. Taliban fighters have been threatening at least two provincial capitals this summer, in Helmand and Kunduz.

That operation was considered the most significant United States raid inside Pakistan since al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, was killed in 2011. This province includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of neighbouring countries was lead by Saeed before he was killed.

These religious leaders belong to a powerful religious seminary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which has its chains in Fata along the Pak-Afghan border, officials said.