Ruthless ISIS commander held in Paktia

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Security forces have arrested a notorious ISIS commander along with three armed companions in southeastern Paktia province, a senior official said on Monday.

Deputy Governor Abdul Wali Sahi told Pajhwok Afghan News Qari Amanullah aka Qari Khalid was detained a day earlier by National Directorate of Security (NDS) personnel.

He did not go into details about the circumstances surrounding the arrests, but said Qari Amanullah was a dangerous commander and was currently being interrogated.

Meanwhile, two security officials told Pajhwok Afghan News Qari Amanullah was second-in-command to an ISIS commander for several provinces, Qari Ikram.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They said Amanullah was detained after a clash lasting 50 minutes with security personnel in Shakarkhel area of Gardez, the provincial capital, on Monday afternoon.

The ISIS commander had arrived in the area to attend funeral prayers for the deceased wife of his paternal uncle.

Qari Ikram is ISIS commander for Paktia, Ghazni and bordering provinces. Security officials said Qari Amanullah was involved in group and suicide attacks on security forces and government assets.

He was directly or indirectly involved in the killing of 11 intelligence officials this solar year, the sources said.

Paktia police chief Brig. Gen. Zalmai Oryakhel confirmed the arrest of Qari Amanullah and promised to share further information with media representatives after the investigation.

The Afghan government has officially not confirmed the presence of ISIS in the country. However, US and NATO.

Rumours have been circulating that ISIS is trying to extend its activities to Afghanistan and other regional countries. The group has reportedly appointed an Afghan cleric Maulvi Abul Rahim Muslim Dost as the Emir of Khurasan region, but Dost yesterday rejected the reports as unfounded.

Dost, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, confirmed allegiance to ISIS, but said he had not been appointed as emir of Khurasan — a region constituting modern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and some Central Asian countries.

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