The al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) leader Asim Umar was killed in a raid on a Taliban compound in Helmand province in late September. The report was released by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Afghanistan.
The NDS said the joint US-Afghan raid took place at a compound in the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala district, where Umar and other AQIS members had been embedded. Additionally, six other influential AQIS members were also killed, with the majority being of Pakistani descent.
The presence of a senior al-Qaeda leader in a Taliban compound raises questions about the militant group’s willingness to cut ties with jihadists as part of peace talks with the United States. The Taliban have been fighting a bloody insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops since it was toppled in 2001 and now controls large areas of the country.
