A joint US and Afghan raid on April 27 resulted in the death of the leader of ISIS–Khorasan in Afghanistan, US Forces Afghanistan announced Sunday. The April 27 raid in Nangarhar province, conducted by Afghan Special Security Forces and US special operations, killed Sheikh Abdul Hasib, the emir of ISIS-K, along with other high-ranking ISIS officials and 35 ISIS fighters. Hasib was responsible for multiple attacks, including a March 8 attack against the Kabul National Military Hospital. “This successful joint operation is another important step in our relentless campaign to defeat ISIS-K in 2017,” Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US Forces-Afghanistan, said in the release. “This is the second ISIS-K emir we have killed in nine months, along with dozens of their leaders and hundreds of their fighters.” Two US Army Rangers also were killed in the raid.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
