ISLAMABAD
Two al-Qaeda members have been killed in a counter-terror operation and U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, according to Afghan intelligence sources.
Afghan intelligence officials said in a statement on Sunday: "Abul Bara Al Kuwaiti, senior member of al-Qaeda, and one other key member of this group have been killed in an air strike in Nangarhar province."
Kuwaiti, believed to have been the son-in-law of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, had been coordinating attacks and drug trafficking in the region, according to an intelligence official.
The statement said a ground operation was initially launched against regional al-Qaeda commander Abdul Samad Khanjiri in Lalmandi village in the district of Nazian and was later followed by U.S. airstrikes.
“Two Ak-47 rifles, one machine gun and a laptop with notable documents were seized from their residence,” the statement added.
The attacks came after a U.S. drone strike killed an alleged prominent militant commander belonging to the Haqqani network and four of his companions on Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan.
The Haqqani network, the main ally of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, has dramatically increased its attacks on local and international forces.
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