Senior leader of IS branch killed in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL - Gul Zaman, No. 2 leader of the Islamic State (IS) branch in Afghanistan, has been killed along with six other IS members in a US drone strike, said the country's intelligence agency on Tuesday.

"Based on information of National Directorate of Security (NDS), Daesh (Arabic name of IS) No.2 leader and 'Daesh war commander in Khorasan province' named Gul Zaman, along with his deputy named Jahanyar and five other Daesh members had been killed following an airstrike in Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province," the NDS said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the IS jihadist group, mostly active in Iraq and Syria, announced that it has established a province in Khorasan, a historic name for a region that covers Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of other countries in the region.

The statement did not reveal the exact date of the airstrike which led to deaths of the targeted militants.

The NDS has set up a special operation team to combat IS affiliate militants, according to the statement.

"The latest targeted killing of the IS leaders has been a big blow for the IS group in Afghanistan. The NDS personnel will never allow any international terrorist group, including Daesh, to set up safe havens in Afghanistan," it added.