{"id":57001,"date":"2018-08-27T17:01:03","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T17:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/27\/us-strike-kills-islamic-state-commander-in-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:50:41","slug":"us-strike-kills-islamic-state-commander-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/27\/us-strike-kills-islamic-state-commander-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"US strike kills Islamic State commander in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KABUL, Afghanistan \u2014 A U.S. strike over the weekend killed a senior Islamic State<\/a> commander in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan and U.S. officials said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strike in Nangarhar province killed Abu Sayeed Orakzai, a senior leader in the extremist group<\/a>, according to Shah Hussain Martazawi, deputy spokesman for the Afghan presidency. He said the operation showed the government\u2019s \u201cdetermination to fight terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Col. Martin O\u2019Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said American forces launched a counterterrorism strike in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday that targeted a \u201csenior leader of a designated terrorist organization<\/a>.\u201d He did not provide further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These efforts target the real enemies of Afghanistan, the same enemies who threaten America,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orakzai, who also known as Abu Saad Erhabi, was the head of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters. Erhabi was killed alongside nine other members of the militant group in the attack, the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t