Afghan forces have killed a prominent leader of al-Qaeda, Abu Muhsin al-Masri, who was said to be an Egyptian national, during a special operation in the southern Ghazni province, the Afghan spy agency National Directorate of Security (NDS) tweeted late on Saturday, October 24.
Masoud Andarabi, the caretaker of Interior Ministry, meanwhile, said the death of al-Masri indicated the Taliban still have close ties with terrorist groups.
Taliban remains close to al-Qaeda, tweeted the interior minister, and the group is lying.
The United States started withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan after inking a peace pact with the Taliban on late February.
ALSO READ: U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal Ultimately Signed in Doha
Under the deal, foreign forces have to leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban and never letting the country become again a safe haven for terrorism.
There has been a spike in violence between Taliban and Afghan forces in the country recently despite negotiators from the two warring sides have already begun peace talks in Doha to end the decades-long war in Afghanistan.
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