WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Nayef Salam Muhammad Ujaym al-Hababi, al-Qaeda’s emir in eastern Afghanistan, was killed by a drone strike in Kunar province, NBC reported citing an unnamed US official on Wednesday.
Al-Hababi planned attacks against the west as well as against international forces operating in Afghanistan, according to the US Treasury Department and United Nations.
The airstrike on Sunday also killed al-Hababi’s deputy, Balal al-Utabi, according to reports.
In April, Maj. Gen. Jeff Buchanan, the deputy chief of staff for Operation Resolute Support, admitted that previous US estimates on al-Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan were too low.
According to Buchanan and other Operation Resolute Support officials, the al-Qaeda terror group has formed ties with the Taliban militants since 2010.
