Defense

US Forces Put Al-Qaida Leader In Crosshairs, Then All You See Is Smoke

Joseph Lafave Contributor
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The Department of Defense released video footage Tuesday of the airstrike that killed al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) leader, Hazrat Abbas, in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province on April 23.

Watch:

According to a release from the DoD, “Abbas was a senior AQIS and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander. He controlled fighting forces in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Abbas’ forces were responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings on both sides of the border.”

Abbas’ dual commands illustrate the integration and cooperation between different terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the DoD said. The close relationships between the organizations foster an environment where terrorist cells come together to create “global threat networks.”

Thankfully, Abbas’ time as a terrorist leader has come to an end thanks to precision-guided ordinance dropped from a U.S. aircraft.

Nangarhar Province lies on the east side of Afghanistan at the Afghan-Pakistan border and is home to Jalalabad, a major city in the country. The Sherzad district, where the strike took place, is west of Jalalabad.

The strike against Abbas is part of the U.S. military’s Operation Resolute Support, which “is a NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions,” according to Central Command.