US airstrike kills key ISIS leader in Afghanistan

Admin Fri 13 Apr 2018, 10:40 am

US airstrike kills key ISIS leader in Afghanistan
April 10, 2018
https://www.conservativeinstitute.org/national-security/isis-leader-killed-airstrike.htm?
US airstrike kills key ISIS leader in Afghanistan
Gage Skidmore / CCL
A U.S. coalition airstrike in Afghanistan killed another senior ISIS leader Thursday.

American and Afghan officials confirmed Monday that Qari Hikmatullah, a senior leader of ISIS in Northern Afghanistan, and his bodyguard were killed in a strike in the border province of Faryab.

It was the latest joint U.S.-Afghan strike on ISIS leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

U.S. strike kills ISIS leader in Afghanistan
Hikmatullah, a native Uzbek, had previously been a leader of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and was tied to the Taliban before shifting to IS-K, or Islamic State in Khorasan, meaning the Afghan and Pakistani branch of IS. “Hikmatullah was the senior IS-K commander and the main facilitator of IS-K fighters into northern Afghanistan,” according to a NATO press release.
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He controlled IS-K in the important border corridor of Jowzjan province. “IS-K in Jowzjan province is the main conduit for external support and foreign fighters from Central Asian states into Afghanistan. Hikmatullah was the key leader for those operations.”

Hikmatullah’s death is a big setback for IS-K leadership in the key province, according to the press release, which is great news for U.S. forces. Afghan officials said that Hikmatullah also led ISIS operations in the northern provinces of Faryab and Sar-i-pul.

News of his death was followed quickly by squabbling among rivals to name a successor, according to Afghan officials. Mawlavi Habibul Rahman, another native Uzbek, was reportedly chosen to lead.

U.S. commander vows to destroy IS-K
“ASSF and U.S. counter-terrorism forces killed Hikmatullah and they will kill any successors,” warned General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. “IS-K will be eliminated.”

Nicholson confirmed the strike was a success Monday and credited American as well as Afghan security forces. The Afghan military reportedly tracked Hikmatullah using drones and photographed his body to confirm the kill.

It was the latest success in the fight against ISIS in the region, according to Nicholson. “A series of Afghan Special Security Forces and U.S. Special Operations Forces counter-terrorism operations have depleted IS-K of viable leadership options in Jowzjan,” the release reads.

The Islamic State is believed to have some 2,000 fighters in Afghanistan, mainly in Nangarhar province, Konar province and Jowzjan.

U.S.-coalition efforts over the last year have also driven ISIS out of much of the eastern Afghanistan province of Nangarhar. Losses in the east and north of Afghanistan come on the heels of ISIS’s defeat throughout most of Iraq and Syria, in good part because of U.S.-coalition efforts led by the Trump administration.

The steady destruction of ISIS and other terror groups throughout the Middle East is a clear example of President Trump delivering on a campaign promise.