Reuters quotes Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal as saying that Afghan security forces confirmed that Khan was killed along with his senior commanders on July 26.
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The death of Saeed represents a major setback for the IS group as it tries to establish itself as a serious force in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Khan has been reported as having been killed before, but the official said there has been confirmation that Khan was killed in the airstrike that occurred in Nangarhar Province more than two weeks ago.
“During this time, USA forces conducted an air strike 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.
Nangarhar Province, where Khan was killed, has been a “hotbed” of ISIS activity for more than a year, defense officials said.
The so-called Khorasan Province was created by ISIL, also known as ISIS, in 2015 encompassing areas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of central Asia.
Pentagon spokesman Gordon Trowbridge confirmed Khan’s death, and said in a statement that the airstrike took place during joint operations by US and Afghan special operations forces against ISIS in the southern part of Nangarhar province.
His death will mark the second USA killing of a key terrorist in the region within months.
A Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement on Saturday confirmed that crewmembers of the MI-17 helicopter have returned to Pakistan safely.
US officials estimate there are some 1,000 to 1,500 IS fighters in Afghanistan now, majority are believed to be former Pakistani Taliban who shifted loyalty to IS in the past two years.
He was earlier reported killed past year but the death was never confirmed.
Taliban and al Qaeda are bitter rivals of the Islamic State.
Saeed Khan masterminded attacks including the group’s first ever deadliest in Kabul last month, killing almost 80 people belonging to Hazara community.
But officials denied that it marked a turning point for IS in Afghanistan, saying the group has been under heavy pressure from both US air strikes and a ground offensive led by Afghan forces. At that time, there were an estimated 3,000 IS militants in the country, a number much smaller than the 25,000 – 30,000 Taliban fighters.
Afghan soldiers and USA troops march toward Gerekheyl village during a patrol in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
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A spokesman for the USA -led mission in Afghanistan said the equipment was lost when US forces had to move a casualty collection area because they came under fire and denied that any USA personnel had been captured.
