The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abu Saad Erhabi, was killed in a strike on the group’s hideouts in Nangarhar province on Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday. A large amount of heavy and light weapons and ammunition were destroyed during raids on two Islamic State hideouts. The provincial governor of Nangarhar said Erhabi was the fourth Islamic State leader in Afghanistan to be killed since July 2017. The local affiliate of Islamic State, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) after an old name for the region that includes Afghanistan, has been active since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and US forces. The exact number of Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan is difficult to calculate because they frequently switch allegiances, but the US military estimates that there are about 2,000.

Source: Egypt Independent August 26, 2018 10:52 UTC