‘Al Qaeda’s South Asia chief killed in Afghanistan’

Asim Umar killed along with six other AQIS members, claims NDS

KABUL: The leader of al Qaeda's South Asian branch was killed in a US-Afghan joint raid in southern Afghanistan last month, Afghan officials confirmed Tuesday.

Asim Umar, who led Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) from its inception in 2014, was killed during a raid September 23 on a Taliban compound in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province.

The Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said Umar was a Pakistani citizen, though some reports claim he was born in India.

https://twitter.com/NDSAfghanistan/status/1181536054836432896

The raid was part of a lengthy and confusing overnight operation from September 22-23 for which the US provided air support.

Authorities said they would investigate reports that 40 civilians, including children, were killed in an air strike during the operation.

The NDS said that among the six other AQIS members killed in the raid was a man identified as "Raihan", a courier for al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Under a stalled withdrawal plan negotiated between the US and the Taliban, Washington agreed to pull troops from Afghanistan if the insurgents abide by security guarantees and cut all ties with al Qaeda.