Key Al-Qaida leader killed in intelligence based operation in northern Afghanistan

Authorities in Afghanistan claimed to have killed a key Al-Qaida leader in a western region near the Iranian border in an intelligence-led security operation on Tuesday.

As per the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the deceased is identified as Mohammad Hanif, also known as Abdullah. He was linked to the terror network’s regional affiliate, al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS.

The Afghan spy agency claimed that Hanif is Pakistan national, and accused the insurgent Taliban of giving him “a safe haven and protection” in the Afghan province of Farah, where the raid was carried out.

The militant commander also was operating in the nearby provinces of Helmand and Nimruz

The operation also arrested two Pakistani women, the NDS said, but gave no further details, nor did it disclose the date of the raid.

A Taliban spokesman told VOA that the group was “investigating the issue.”

The presence of an al-Qaida operative in insurgent-held Afghan areas, if confirmed, would be a breach of the peace-building agreement the Islamist Taliban signed with the United States in February.