Leader of ISIS in Afghanistan killed in April raid, Pentagon says
The announcement confirms what officials believed to be true at the time.
— -- The top ISIS commander in Afghanistan was killed in an April raid, the U.S. military announced Sunday, confirming what American and Afghan military officials believed to be true at the time.
Abdul Hasib was the target of an April 26 raid in Nangarhar Province, to the east of Kabul along the Pakistani border. Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said at the time that Hasib was believed to have been killed. Abdul Hasib’s death was confirmed Sunday by U.S. Forces - Afghanistan.
"This is the second ISIS-K emir we have killed in nine months," Gen. John Nicholson, Commander U.S. Forces - Afghanistan, said in a statement. The Pentagon says the raid also killed at least 35 ISIS fighters and "several other high ranking ISIS-K leaders."
Hasib is accused of directing ISIS fighters to behead local elders in front of their families, ordering the kidnapping of women and girls and forcing them to marry ISIS fighters, and coordinating an attack on a Kabul hospital on March 8 that killed or injured more than 100 Afghans.
The April 26 raid that killed Hasib resulted in the deaths of two Army Rangers, and the U.S. military is investigating whether they were killed by friendly fire.