“The strike killed Abu Khalil al-Sudani, who was described as a “high-ranking al-Qaeda operational commander,” on July 11 in Paktika province in southeast Afghanistan,” The Washington Post reported the Pentagon as saying on Friday.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was reported as saying that the Afghan strike “illustrated US forces’ ongoing efforts against al-Qaeda.”
According to the Pentagon, al-Sudani was in charge of the suicide and explosive operations for al-Qaeda and was “directly linked to external attack planning against the United States,” media outlet said.
Additionally, the top al-Qaeda leader also attacked other foreign forces in Afghanistan and was close to other leaders in the terrorist groups, the reports said.
The airstrike comes as the United States is scaling back its military operations in Afghanistan, after US President Barack Obama said in March that all remaining US military bases in the country would be closed by the end of 2016.
