The Pentagon announced Friday that U.S. forces eliminated a senior Islamic State member affiliated with the Afghanistan branch known as ISIS-K.
Abu Sayed, the emir of ISIS-K, was killed during a July 11 airstrike in the country’s Kunar province, according to Pentagon spokesperson, Dana White.
The strike on the group’s headquarters in eastern Afghanistan “also killed other ISIS-K members and will significantly disrupt the terror group’s plans to expand its presence in Afghanistan,” according to the statement.
“ISIS leaders chose Abu Sayed to lead the group after Afghan and U.S. forces killed the previous ISIS-K leaders — Hafiz Sayed Khan in late July 2016, and Abdul Hasib, in late April of this year,” the statement added.
The announcement comes as the fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups continues to ramp up in Afghanistan, and the Defense Department prepares to send a reported 4,000 additional troops to the region.
