Militant leader in Afghanistan reportedly killed

28.03.2012

The leader for an al-Qaeda linked foreign militant network in Afghanistan has been killed in a joint raid of Afghan and NATO forces, the coalition reported on Tuesday.

Makhdum Nusrat, the chief of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Afghanistan, was wanted by NATO and the Afghan government, NATO said in a statement. He was reportedly killed Monday as troops were trying to capture him in the Shirin Tagab district of northern Faryab province, near the border with Turkmenistan.

“During the operation, insurgents fired on the combined security force. The force returned fire, killing Makhdum and several additional IMU insurgents,” the statement said. “Two other insurgents were detained.” NATO troops confiscated a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, multiple rockets, several AK-47s and a number of grenades,” the statement said.