Afghan intelligence team nabs daesh leader

KANDAHAR (TOLOnews): A key member of Daesh’s Khorasan branch, Asalam Farooqi, and 19 of his associates have been arrested in the southern province of Kandahar, said the National Directorate of Security.

“Abdullah Orakzai, who is known as Aslam Farooqi, the leader of the Khorasan branch of Daesh terrorist group and his 19 associates, including Qari Zahid and Saifullah known as Abu Talaha, were arrested during…complex operation by the special units of the National Directorate of Security,” said the NDS in a statement on Saturday.

According to the statement, Farooqi is a native of tribale areas.

Farooq was operating as the commander of Daesh’s military wing and was deployed in Abdul Khel valley of Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, said the statement. The NDS also stated that after the killing of Abu Saeed Bajawri, Farooqi was appointed as Daesh’s shadow governor in Afghanistan.

Farooqi was “enjoying close relations” with the other terrorist groups such as “the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba,” said the statement. This comes after Daesh recently claimed two deadly attacks in Afghanistan including an attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul which killed 25 people.

As well as on March 5, a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat party, where Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and other politicians were attending, was attacked when the head of the High Peace Council, Mohammad Karim Khalili, was giving a speech. 32 killed in the attack and Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.