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Key Al-Qaida Leader Killed in Western Afghanistan

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday an intelligence-led
   security operation had killed a key al-Qaida leader in a western region
   close to the Iranian border.
   The Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, identified
   the slain man as Mohammad Hanif, also known as Abdullah, and said he
   was linked to the terror network's regional affiliate, al-Qaida in the
   Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS.
   The NDS said Hanif was a citizen of neighboring Pakistan and accused
   the insurgent Taliban of giving him "a safe haven and protection" in
   the Afghan province of Farah, where the raid was carried out.
   The militant commander also was operating in the nearby provinces of
   Helmand and Nimruz, providing bomb-making training to Taliban
   insurgents, the spy agency asserted. The operation also arrested two
   Pakistani women, the NDS said, but gave no further details, nor did it
   disclose the date of the raid.
   A Taliban spokesman contacted by VOA said the insurgent group was
   "investigating the issue."
   The presence of an al-Qaida operative in insurgent-held Afghan areas,
   if confirmed, would be a breach of the peace-building agreement the
   Islamist Taliban signed with the United States in February.

   Afghan security forces last month also announced the killing of a
   senior al-Qaida leader in the central Ghazni province, where Taliban
   insurgents control or contest most of the districts. The slain militant
   commander was on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list.
   A U.S. official who spoke to VOA at that time and on condition of
   anonymity confirmed the death of al-Qaida's Abu Muhsin al-Masri, saying
   U.S. forces provided support during the Afghan-led operation in Ghazni.
   The United Nations, in a recent report earlier this year, noted that
   the Taliban continued to maintain ties with al-Qaida, charges the
   insurgents vehemently rejected at the time, saying they were aimed at
   undermining their deal with the U.S.
   The February 29 pact binds the insurgents to sever ties with global
   terror groups, including al-Qaida, and prohibits these terror groups
   from operating in Afghanistan. In return, the U.S. has committed to
   stage a "conditions-based" withdrawal of all American and allied troops
   from the country by May 2021.

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