Head of ISIS in Afghanistan confirmed killed

Abdul Hasib - appointed last year after his predecessor Hafiz Saeed Khan died in a US drone attack - is believed to have ordered a series of high-profile attacks, including one in March on the main military hospital in Kabul by a group of fighters disguised as doctors.

US military officials in Afghanistan have previously said Hasib's death would "significantly degrade" the group's operations and "help reach our goal of destroying them in 2017".

Last month, a Pentagon spokesman said Hasib had probably been killed during a raid by US and Afghan special forces in Nangarhar, during which two US Army Rangers were killed. But there was no confirmation.

The compound was located near the tunnel complex where the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear device on April 13, killing 94 militants, including four commanders.

Afghanistan's government confirmed Hasib's death on April 27.

"He had ordered the attack on 400-bed hospital in Kabul that resulted in the death and injuries of a number of our countrymen, women. The Afghan government is committed to continuing its operations against ISIS and other terrorist groups until they are annihilated," it said in a statement.

The local affiliate of ISIS - sometimes known as ISIS Khorasan (ISIS-K), after an old name for the region that includes Afghanistan - has been active since 2015.

It is believed to maintain links with the main ISIS group in Iraq and Syria, but has considerable operational independence.

Afghan special forces, backed by drone attacks and other air support, have waged a series of operations against ISIS-K this year, killing dozens of militants, mainly in Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan.

The Pentagon estimates about 1,000 ISIS-K militants remain in Afghanistan.