Afghan forces killed a high-ranking ISIS commander in an airstrike in the northern Jawzjan province, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new ISIS foothold in the country, security officials said.
Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in Darz Aab district, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.
He said Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman has been appointed as his ISIS successor in the north of the country.
The terrorist group established a new foothold in the province last year when Hekmat defected from the Taliban, attracting the attention of US forces.
The extremist organization first appeared in Afghanistan three years ago. As well as its main stronghold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, ISIS militants have been active in northern Afghanistan.
Jawzjan provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said Hekmat's death was "a big blow" to ISIS in the north.
"He was the founder of ISIS in northern Afghanistan and had recruited fighters," Jawzjani said.
He revealed Hekmat was killed on Thursday in a joint operation between Afghan and foreign forces.
