Top Islamic State Commander Killed In Afghan Air Strike

File photo of 4 A-29 Super Tucano arrive before the beginning of the 2017 fighting season at Kabul Air Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan, Mar 2017. (Reuters)

Reuters: Afghan air strike kills Islamic State commander

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan forces killed an important Islamic State (IS) commander in an air strike, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new IS foothold in the country, security officials said.

Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan’s northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

He said Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman has been appointed as his IS successor in the north of the country.

The militant group, also known as Daesh, established a new foothold in the province last year when Hekmat defected from the Taliban, attracting the attention of U.S. forces.

IS claimed responsibility for suicide bombs last month near Shi’ite mosques in Herat and Kabul. Both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the main Islamist militant group, the Taliban, fight Islamic State.

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Update #1: Top Islamic State commander in Afghanistan killed in airstrike: officials (AFP)
Update #2: Islamic State Local Commander 'Killed In Afghan Air Strikes' (RFE)

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