Blow for al-Qaeda in India as its senior most leader is killed

The second in command of the al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent (AQIS) has been killed in Afghanistan. The killing of Omar Bin Khetab was the result of a joint operation by the Afghan intelligence and US military.

The Afghan National Directorate of Security termed Khetab as the senior most al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan since 2001. Khetab has been described as an expert in heavy weapons and explosives who trained the Taliban for night attacks, according to a NATO hand out.

Khetab was killed in the Gilan district in Afghanistan's Ghazni's province. Khetab who was in his early 40s hailed from the restive tribal regions of Pakistan.

This killing is a bloody blow for the al-Qaeda which has been making desperate attempts to make its presence felt in the sub-continent. In the year 2014, it announced its India operations with the formation of the AQIS. However, the group has not been able to get much traction as the Islamic State overtook it and spread the ideology among the jihadis.

Recently the AQIS made another attempt in Kashmir when it recognised Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa as its man.

OneIndia News