- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Drone Strike Wounds IS-Linked Militant in Afganistan

© AFP 2023 / HANDOUT/US Army / Sgt. Ken ScarTwo freshly assembled Grey Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles sit on the tarmac at Forward Operating Base Shan in Logar Province, Afghanistan April 11, 2012
Two freshly assembled Grey Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles sit on the tarmac at Forward Operating Base Shan in Logar Province, Afghanistan April 11, 2012 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Mullah Abdul Rawouf Khadim, a former Guantanamo prisoner and Taliban commander, supported by Islamic State, was wounded in a drone strike in southern Afghanistan.

US MQ-9 Reaper drone in flight - Sputnik International
UAV Strikes to Continue in Afghanistan Despite Mission End: Former Official
MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — A well-known Afghan insurgent commander linked to the Islamic State (IS) was wounded in a drone strike in southern Afghanistan, news agency Khaama Press reported Monday.

Mullah Abdul Rawouf Khadim, a former Guantanamo prisoner and Taliban commander, recently left the movement and founded his own group supporting the IS, according to the news agency.

The commander was hit in a drone strike while traveling in a car through Helmand province accompanied by several of his followers, Khaama Press reported, citing a local security officer. The commander managed to escape despite being wounded, while four other militants were killed.

According to other media reports, Mullah Khadim could have been killed as well.

A US soldier at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. - Sputnik International
Forever War? Future Pentagon Chief Considers Leaving Troops in Afghanistan
The strike was conducted by the Afghan Air Forces, according to media reports.

The IS, a radical Sunni group, has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. The extremists later expanded its operations to Iraq, seizing vast areas in both countries and declaring an Islamic caliphate over the territories under its control. In January, the IS declared its intention to expand into Khorasan, a historic region located on the territory of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mullah Khadim, who has recently pledged his allegiance to the IS, has actively been recruiting potential militants in Helmand province, according to media reports.

The United States started carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq in August. Following the establishment of an international coalition involving 62 states, the airstrikes were expanded to Syria.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала