New York: In a major development, the United States military has confirmed the killing of a senior member and the destruction of a media hub of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (ISIS-K), the Afghanistan branch of the terrorist group.
The announcement by the U.S. comes the same day that Russia claims it may have killed the leader of ISIS in an air strike in Raqqa, Syria, last month.
A June 3 airstrike in Achin, Nangarhar province, killed Jawad Khan, the senior director of ISIS-K media production, and destroyed a major media production hub for the group, disrupting its connections to ISIS’s main branch in Syria, according to a statement, reports the Hill.
Khan’s removal “will deprive the group of an experienced media production director and skilled propagandist,” U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said.
Commander Gen. John Nicholson further stated that the death “will disrupt the ISIS-K network, degrade their recruitment process and hinder their attempts to conduct international operations.”
“There is no safe haven for ISIS-K in Afghanistan. With our Afghan partners we will continue to aggressively target ISIS-K and defeat them,” Nicholson added.
The statement also confirmed that there were no civilian casualties associated with the strike.