Mangal Bagh killing

From simply using Afghan soil, Bagh began taking it, and eventually took enough land to be considered a minor warlord

Afghan officials have 'confirmed' that Mangal Bagh, one of Pakistan's most wanted men, was killed by a roadside bomb near his home in Afghanistan's Nangahar province. According to the provincial governor, two of Bagh's associates were also killed in the bombing. Bagh was the leader of the Lashkar-e-Islam terrorist group, which is responsible for several attacks on Pakistani and American military and civilian targets, apart from being involved in several criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking and kidnapping for ransom. The group is also affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Bagh's personal notoriety had 'earned' him a $3 million bounty from the Americans. While Bagh has been reported dead several times in the past, this report appears to be more reliable, coming from the local governor and the Afghan President's office.

Indeed, Bagh, who was previously accused by Pakistani sources of being an Afghan government asset, had all sides baying for his blood. Most recently, there were reports that he had been injured in an Afghan government airstrike. This represented a massive change from just a few years ago when Pakistani security officials would accuse the Afghan National Directorate of Security of using Pakistani-origin militants as proxies against Pakistan. But like all proxy terrorists, Bagh eventually turned around to bite the hand that once fed him. From simply using Afghan soil, he began taking it, especially after fleeing Pakistan in 2008. Even then, because he was also allegedly fighting against the Afghan Taliban, the government in Kabul gave him considerable leeway. But he eventually took enough land in Afghanistan to be considered a minor warlord.

These advances, and his increasing involvement in the opium trade, apparently marked the point at which the Afghans turned their attention towards him. Unfortunately, they failed at the time, and Bagh launched a deadly campaign against the Afghan government as well. Despite his increasing notoriety in the region, source-based reports seem to suggest that his death was not at the hands of government forces, but rather due to infighting within the group, or possibly with Daesh, which Lashkar-e-Islam had also been fighting. But whatever the cause, the next step must be a coordinated response to destroy the hydra, lest it be given time to grow another head.