Nangahar, on the border with Pakistan, is a main route for militant fighters and supplies.
Salvin added that "more than 500" IS fighters have been killed since an offensive began against them in March, though he could not immediately provide an estimate on how many remain. The role of USA -led coalition forces in the Nangahar offensive was not immediately clear.
The office of the president of Afghanistan, Mr. Ashraf Ghani, released a statement confirming the death of ISIL leader Sheikh Abdul Hasib following a raid conducted by Afghan and us special forces on April 27.
Officials said the announcement of Hasib's death was delayed until his remains could be positively identified.
Branching out from Iraq and Syria - and fueled by a growing militancy in Central Asia - Islamic State launched its operations in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region two years ago, naming it IS's Khorasan province (IS-K) to cover Afghanistan, Pakistan and "other nearby lands".
During the operation, two USA army Rangers were also killed. The two Rangers were identified on April 28 as Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, both assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning, Georgia. Defense officials told Fox News that friendly fire was the suspected cause of the Rangers' deaths.
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Afghan authorities April 15 reported a jump in fatalities from the American military's largest non-nuclear bomb, declaring some 90 Islamic State fighters dead, as US-led forces conducted clean-up operations over their mountain hideouts.
Afghan commandos operate alongside USA special forces in Nangarhar, where two U.S. service members were killed on April 26, one day before the raid that killed the Islamic State leader.
"US Special Operations forces killed several senior ISIS-K leaders along with about 35 ISIS operatives, which should significantly degrade ISIS-K operations and help to destroy the ISIS-K affiliate that's there", the statement added. His name often included a third name of Logari to note his tribal roots.
The attack on the military hospital in Kabul by Daesh was one of the most brutal ones in which the militants beheaded the elders in the hospital in front of their families and kidnapped girls and women to force them to marry Daesh fighters.
As the administration of President Donald Trump weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, the 16-year war grinds on in bloody stalemate.
Joscelyn says that Hasib's killing was significant because the deaths of leaders can "disrupt the chain-of-command and communications, thereby leading to less organizational cohesion".
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