Report: US Strike Kills ISIS Leader in Afghanistan

10 other suspects reported slain in airstrike

According to officials familiar with the situation, a US airstrike against suspected ISIS members in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, killed 11 people, including the leader of the regional ISIS affiliate, Abu Sayed Orakzai.

ISIS-K leader Abu Sayed Orakzai

The death of Orakzai was initially reported by the Ghani government, and later confirmed by provincial officials. The ISIS affiliate, called ISIS-K, has yet to make any comments on the matter.

If confirmed, this would be the fourth ISIS-K leader killed in the past 13 months. The group has been a major focus of US and Afghan military operations since setting up shop in Afghanistan in 2015, and has become a major force in Nangarhar in that time.

While officials say they intend to push the offensive until ISIS-K is defeated, several past offensives have been launched, and the Afghan government has claimed the group wiped out in Nangarhar several times in recent years, only to reemerge with little loss to their ability to operate.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.