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US Forces Kill Head Of ISIS In Afghanistan, Pentagon Says

Abu Sayed was killed in a US airstrike.
US forces have executed a major ISIS target in Afghanistan.
Omar Sobhani / Reuters
US forces have executed a major ISIS target in Afghanistan.

The leader of ISIS in Afghanistan has been killed by a US airstrike, the Pentagon says.

US authorities said on Friday that the leader of ISIS' Afghanistan affilitate, Abu Sayed, was killed "in a strike on the group's headquarters in Kunar Province" on July 11, according to CNN.

The raid, aimed at "disrupting the group's plans to expand" in Afghanistan reportedly also resulted in the deaths of other IS members.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is said to have told media on Friday, local time, that the take down of Sayed set ISIS "back for a day a week, a month, it's about who it is and what kind of people are below them. It is obviously a victory on our side in terms of setting them back, it's the right direction".

Abu Sayed's predecessor, Abdul Hasib, was killed in a military raid earlier this year.

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