The Islamic State group's leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed, was killed last month in an airstrike in Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said Friday.


Saeed was named head of ISIS's 'Khorasan province,' which includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of neighboring countries, early last year when a group of Pakistani Taliban switched allegiance to the jihadist group.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Gordon Trowbridge said the strike came while US and Afghan special operations forces carried out counter-ISIS operations in southern Nangarhar province throughout July.

'During this time, US forces conducted an airstrike targeting Hafiz Saeed Khan, the Islamic State in the Levant-Khorasan emir, in Achin district, Nangarhar province July 26, resulting in his death,' Trowbridge said.

Saeed 'was known to directly participate in attacks against US and coalition forces, and the actions of his network terrorized Afghans, especially in Nangarhar,' he added.

Details of the strike were not immediately available, but a US official told the BBC that Saeed was killed by drone.

The death of Saeed represents a major setback for ISIS as it tries to establish itself as a serious force in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: Daily Mail