Islamic State Claims That Their Afghan Leader Was Not Killed In A U.S. Drone Strike

Photo: ISIS leader Shahidullah Shahid

Reuters: Islamic State audio tape raises doubt whether Afghan leader dead

Islamic State on Monday released an audio tape it said was of the movement's leader for Afghanistan, raising doubts over whether he was killed in a U.S. drone strike on Friday.

According to Afghan intelligence agency, Hafez Saeed was killed late on Friday in the Achin district of Nangarhar province late on Friday. Achin fell to fighters loyal to Saeed last month after heavy clashes with Taliban militants.

A former Taliban commander, Saeed switched allegiance to the Middle East based movement last year, raising the Islamic State's black banner and declaring a "province of Khorasan", covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The audio recording posted on Islamic State's Arabic website could not be independently verified and it was unclear from the content when it was recorded.

Update #1: Islamic State Claims Afghan Leader Alive After US Airstrike -- AP
Update #2: Islamic State says emir for Khorasan province is alive -- Long War Journal

WNU Editor: It looks like claims that he was killed were premature.