Senior Afghan IS members killed in US air strike

Several senior Islamic State group members in Afghanistan — including a provincial leader — have been killed in a United States air strike, an official said on Sunday.

General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said Thursday’s strike killed Abdul Rahman, who he claimed was a provincial leader in IS’s Afghanistan branch, known as IS—Khorasan Province (IS—K).

Rahman’s death comes a month after US forces killed Abu Sayed, the head of IS—K. That marked the third time in a year that the affiliate had lost its leader.

“The death of Abdul Rahman deals yet another blow to the senior leadership of ISIS—K,” Gen. Nicholson said in a statement.

“He found out just like those before him that there are no safe havens in Afghanistan. We will hunt them down until they are no longer a threat to the Afghan people and the region,” he added.