Four additional senior leaders of ISIS’ Afghan affiliate were killed in a July 11 drone strike, US Forces Afghanistan revealed Sunday. The Pentagon previously announced the death of Abu Sayed in the strike, the third leader of ISIS’s Afghan affiliate killed by the US government. Sayed was only at his post for approximately six weeks before being taken out in the drone strike, Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters after the announcement. In a statement, the US Forces-Afghanistan identified the four eliminated ISIS-K leaders as Sheik Ziaullah, the ISIS-Khorasan emir of religion; Mualvi Hubaib, senior commander in Watah Pur Valley, Haji Shirullah, an ISIS-K commander and former Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin commander, and Assadullah, a senior ISIS-K shura member and a close associate of Abu Sayed. “We will be relentless in our campaign against ISIS, and there are no safe havens in Afghanistan,” the statement quoted John Nicholson, commander of the US Forces-Afghanistan, as saying. The eastern province of Nangarhar borders Kunar, and several of its districts are considered ISIS strongholds. Afghan security forces, backed by US airpower, have been conducting major operations in the province to eliminate ISIS bases.
Follow TKG on Twitter & Facebook
