On Friday, the United States said he had been killed in a new drone attack in Nangarhar’s Achin district on 26 July.
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ISIL’s leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed, has been killed in an air strike in Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said.
It was quoted on account of an unnamed source by The Express Tribune that “the crew members were handed over to tribal elders at Parachinar, Kurram Agency”.
Khan, a former member of the Pakistani Taliban, had been the commander of the Islamic State in the Khorasan, an ancient name for the region that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Khan was the leader of ISIS’ Khorasan province, the terror group’s regional branch that operates in Afghanistan.
Both the Pakistani Taliban and ISIL have claimed responsibility for a horrific suicide bombing on Monday at a hospital in Pakistan which killed 73 people.
Khan, a former commander of the Pakistani Taliban, pledged allegiance to ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi previous year.
The U.S. military says the group’s nascent presence in Afghanistan has dwindled, with fighters largely confined to two or three districts in Nangarhar from around nine in January.
Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif said he had spoken to the Afghan president after the crash in a bid to secure the crew’s release.
Various Taliban factions and their al Qaeda allies – who vehemently oppose al-Baghdadi’s claim to lead a nascent global caliphate – still control vast, overlapping networks of finance from opium, kidnappings and taxes on areas under their sway.
He added that after the death of Hafiz Sayed, another IS leader Sheikh Mohammad Hasibullah has succeeded the late Hafiz Sayed and presently leading IS fighters.
“In Europe, disaffected and disgruntled local Islamists won’t find many enticing options at home”.
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A group of more than six people including tribal and religious leaders having “say” on both sides of the Durand-Line played an important part in their safe return to Islamabad. Pakistan Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, called on the commander of USA troops in Afghanistan, The Afghan government and Afghan National Army to take them on board in the rescue efforts.
