ISIS Recruiter Killed - A former Taliban commander, who was allegedly recruiting fighters for the Islamic State (IS) in southern Afghanistan, has been killed in a NATO drone strike on Monday.
Afghan authorities say Mullah Abdul Ruaf was one of six people killed during a rare NATO drone strike in the highly unstable country.
Mohammed Jan Rasoulya, the deputy governor of southern Helmand province, where the operation took place, told CNN that 4 of the casualties killed in the drone strike on Monday morning were terrorists from Pakistan. According to the Mail Online, Abdul Ruaf was driving with his son-in-law at the time of the drone attack.
Last month Afghan officials and Taliban tribal leaders revealed that Abdul Ruaf had been attempting to build an Islamic State cell in the home of the Taliban by recruiting fighters from the area and undermining the power of the Taliban. There are unconfirmed reports that up to 20 people have died in clashes between Islamic State and Taliban fighters.
Abdul Rauf had been temporarily imprisoned under suspicion of terrorism at Guantanamo Bay. But he was later released after convincing authorities that he had no real ties with top Taliban commanders, and only wanted to return to his home country to tend to his farm.
Several experts have warned about the growth of Islamic State (IS) cells in Afghanistan, but at the moment the group is far too small to cause any significant damage as they have done in Iraq and Syria.
The slow pullout of US and NATO forces from war-torn Afghanistan has been a source of worry for many experts - given the lightning-speed pace of growth that the Islamic State (IS) has enjoyed. Nonetheless, the use of combat drone has been applauded by many pundits as a good way to compensate for the loss of some men.
