A key figure member of the Islamic State terrorist group in Afghanistan was killed after a Nato drone strike hit his car, reports from the region have revealed.
According to BBC, a spokesman for the US-led coalition confirmed that a precision strike on Monday had caused "the death of eight individuals threatening the force," including 33 year old Mullah Abduf Rauff, his brother-in-law, and four other Pakistanis. The car, which was loaded with ammunition, also exploded upon contact.
Rauf, an Afghan militant commander formerly affiliated with the Taliban, was previously held at the US-run detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to documents released by WikiLeaks. He was later handed over to Afghan authorities in 2007, and was among the world's most wanted insurgents in 2011.
"He had lost one of his legs during the war against Russians and was thus known as 'gud Mullah' or 'Mullah of one leg' in Taliban circles," an Afghan Taliban commander told NBC News.
According to reports, Rauf pledged his allegiance to ISIS in January and claimed to be recruiting fighters on behalf of the group. He was also named as deputy leader of IS in " Khorasan," an old name for Afghanistan, by the outfit in Syria.
"People are saying that he has raised black flags and even has tried to bring down white Taliban flags in some areas," Afghan official Saifullah Sanginwal, told AP in January.
Additionally, The Washington Post, in a headline last month, called the militant, who had not been seen in public since 2001, "the shadowy figure recruiting for the Islamic State in Afghanistan."
Currently, the Islamic State controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq and has a growing presence in parts of Afghanistan, according to officials. However, RT reports that Monday's attack removed the only well-known alleged affiliate of Isis in Afghanistan's south.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is reportedly "frightened" due to a series of airstrikes brought on by Jordan's military in response to the brutal murder of a Jordanian pilot.
"He is frightened by what we did in the last three days," Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Jabour told NBC News on Sunday. "We will not hesitate" to kill al-Baghdadi, he said. "He is going to be on top of our list."
"[ISIS leadership] always hide and they are always on the move but we have assets always in the air for an opportunity to target al-Baghdadi and his gang," he added. "If [al-Baghdadi] is not frightened let him show himself to us and he'll see what we can do against him."
