Senior Al-Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, Oct 25 (AFP/APP):Afghan special forces have killed a high-ranking Al-Qaeda leader who was also wanted by the United States, Afghanistan’s intelligence service said late Saturday.

Abu Muhsin al-Masri, an Egyptian national believed to be the number-two for the Islamist militant group in the Indian sub-continent, was targeted in central Ghazni province, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security said in a tweet.

It did not provide further details about the operation or when it was carried out.

Al-Masri, who also goes by the name Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.

A US warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2018, after he was charged with providing support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation and plotting to kill US nationals, according to the FBI.

Al-Masri’s killing comes as peace talks continue in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government in a bid to end the long-running war.

The negotiations were organised after a deal between the United States and the Taliban in February, under which the militants agreed to not allow Afghan soil to be used by foreign extremists.