Afghan Leader of Islamic State Group Declared Dead

The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan - believed to be the mastermind behind several high-profile attacks including an assault on a military hospital that claimed at least 50 lives - was killed yesterday, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

Abdul Hasib, the head of Islamic State's (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) faction in Afghanistan, was killed on April 27, the U.S. military confirmed on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Hasib was appointed past year following the death of his predecessor, Hafiz Saeed Khan - a former Pakistani Taliban commander - in a USA drone strike in the same Afghan province.

Abdul Hasib's death was confirmed Sunday by U.S. Forces - Afghanistan.

The raid came eight months after the previous ISIS-K leader, or emir, Hafiz Saeed, was killed in a USA drone strike.

The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan - believed to be the mastermind behind several high-profile attacks, including an assault on a military hospital that claimed at least 50 lives - has been killed, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.

Logari directed the March 8 attack against Kabul National Military Hospital, which killed or wounded more than 100 people, the Pentagon said. During the raid, two U.S. army Rangers were also killed.

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.

IS announced it was moving into Afghanistan and Pakistan when it declared its so-called Khorasan Province (sometimes called ISIS-K) in 2015, and has since carried out a number of deadly and high-profile attacks. At least 94 fighters, including four commanders, were killed.

"Within a few minutes of landing, our combined force came under intense fire from multiple directions and well-prepared fighting positions", said a joint US-Afghan army statement.

USA troops have been present for almost 16 years in Afghanistan, where the government backed by its coalition allies are battling a resilient Taliban as well as other terror groups including ISIS. "Any ISIS member that comes to Afghanistan will meet the same fate". "Nevertheless, our forces successfully closed on the enemy".

The U.S. military command in Afghanistan launched an offensive against ISIS-K in March, and has made it their mission to rid ISIS from the country within the year.

The Pentagon is considering sending additional troops to Afghanistan in an effort to "move beyond the stalemate", U.S. military officials told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday.