KABUL -- National Directorate of Security (NDS) forces captured Aslam Farooqi, leader of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) in Afghanistan, during a covert operation last week.
The Afghan forces nabbed Farooqi, also known as Abdullah Orakzai, along with 19 other ISIS fighters last week in Kandahar Province in a "complex operation", the NDS said in a statement April 4.
"Qari Zahid, also known as Maaz, ISIS's commander in charge for military operations, and Saifullah, also known as Abu Talha Pakistani, in charge of group's recruiting in Nangarhar Province, were among those arrested," the NDS said.
Farooqi was the mastermind behind an ISIS-claimed attack on a Sikh-Hindu temple in Kabul last month that killed at least 25 people, an NDS official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.
Known as the ISIS Khorasan branch (ISIS-K), the ISIS wing has been on its back foot in recent months following continued operations by Afghan and coalition forces.
In November, Afghan officials said ISIS-K had been defeated in Nangarhar, one of the key provinces where the group first sought to establish a stronghold in 2015.
In the years since, it has claimed responsibility for a string of horrific bombings across Afghanistan.
Farooqi admitted to having links with "regional intelligence agencies", the NDS said in its statement.
yes ,according to its resources the best efforts are made by govt. of pakistan
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