Afghan Officials have confirmed that Maulvi Ziauddin, the second-in-command and shadow governor of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) militant group, was killed in military operations in Mazar Sharif in Afghanistan’s Balkh province.
The officials have also confirmed that Abu Omar Afridi, a member of the ISKP Shura, and Salman Tajikistani, an expert in military training and bomb-making, have also been reported to be killed in the operations. This marks the second successful military operation in an Afghan province bordering the former Russian states.
ISKP had previously used the eastern region as its training and operational area but has recently started operating from other parts of the country.
Ziauddin, originally from the Kunar province, served as the group’s military commander for Kunar for eight months, from July 2022 to February 2023. He was recently appointed as the group’s main media representative and has appeared in several ISKP audio messages and propaganda videos alongside Sultan Aziz Ezzam.
The successful operation comes a month after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Special Forces killed the ISKP intelligence and military chief in Kabul. Two Da’esh members were killed in the overnight operation carried out on a militant cell in Kabul, including Qari Fateh, a key member of the ISKP who previously served as Amir-al-Harb (military leader) for Khorasan, head of Kunar province, head of the eastern zone.
