A senior ISIS commander was killed in a raid in Afghanistan, said US forces on Saturday.
Khetab Emir was killed in the raid on January 10 in the eastern area of Nangarhar province, said Lt. Ubon Mendie, a spokesman for the US forces based in Afghanistan.
Emir, who was known by multiple names, facilitated high-profile attacks and supplied ISIS fighters with weapons and materials to make explosives, Mendie said in a statement.
"His removal helps protect innocent Afghans from future ISIS violence and weakens their presence in Nangarhar," Mendie said according to Reuters.
ISIS has developed a stronghold in the province on Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan.
The terror group's local affiliate, known as ISIS Khorasan Province after an old name for the region that includes Afghanistan, has been active since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and foreign forces.
The fight against ISIS and other militant groups, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban, is at the heart of the US led counterterrorism mission being conducted alongside the NATO-led Resolute Support operation aimed at training and advising Afghan security forces.
Separately, at least five Afghan security forces were killed after their checkpoint came under attack by insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a provincial official.
Aziz Ahmad Azizi, the provincial governor's spokesman, said that two other police were wounded in the attack that took place in the Spin Bolduk district.
He said seven Taliban insurgents were killed and six others were wounded in the fighting.
