Afghan forces eliminate ISIS-K designated ‘chief judge’ Abdullah Orakzai

Abdullah Orakzai, the designated “chief judge” of ISIS Khorasan, was killed in a complex operation by Afghan forces, said Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) on August 18. The intelligence agency didn’t share the time and location of the major counter-terrorism operation after recently eliminating Pakistan-origin terrorist Assadullah Orakzai.

Earlier this month, NDS confirmed the killing of ISIS Khorasan Head of Intelligence Assadullah Orakzai who was involved in plotting several deadly attacks on military and civil targets in Afghanistan. All these killings hold significance for the peace and security of Afghanistan since the terror group they belonged to carried out the Kabul gurdwara attack in March, killing at least 25 Sikhs. 

The terrorist organisation has intensified the attack in several parts of Afghanistan as the government and the Taliban continue to take action on the peace deal signed earlier this year. On August 2, Islamic State terrorists attacked a prison in eastern Afghanistan and killed at least 29 people. According to local reports, an ISIS-K suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the prison entrance that housed hundreds of inmates affiliated to Islamic State Khorasan. 

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Responsible for nearly 100 attacks

ISIS-K was also involved in the rocket attack at the inauguration ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani and attack on Afghan politicians gathering in the west of Kabul. According to a global think tank CSIS, ISIS-K carries out its global strategy in different operating environments by curating it to local conditions. It has been responsible for nearly 100 attacks against civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as roughly 250 clashes with the US, Afghan, and Pakistani security forces since January 2017. 

On May 6, special forces of the NDS raided and destroyed joint ISIS and Haqqani network centre in three operations. One of the operations took place in Shakar Dara district, 25 kilometres north of Kabul, while the other two raids took place in capital city’s PD11. A few days later, Afghan security forces arrested top ISIS commander Zia-Ul-Haq, also known as Abu Omar Khorasani, in a joint operation. The NDS had captured three terrorists including Khorasani, the Daesh leader for Afghanistan and South Asia. 

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(Image: AP)