US offers USD 10 million reward to help track ISIS-K leader

The United States on Monday (local time) announced a multimillion-dollar reward for information leading to the identification of Afghanistan's top ISIS militant and anyone involved in the August bombing that killed more than a dozen US troops.

According to State Department statement, the agency announced a USD 10 million bounty through the Rewards for Justice program, specifically for ISIS-K leader Sanaullah Ghafari, who is also known as Shahab al-Muhajir. Ghafari was appointed head of ISIS-K in June 2020 by the Islamic State group.

"Ghafari is responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout Afghanistan and arranging funding to conduct operations," the State Department said in a statement.

He had been blacklisted in November as a foreign terrorist.

Last week, the US military said that a single Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) bomber killed 13 American troops and at least 170 Afghans at Kabul airport last August.

Briefing reporters on the results of a military inquiry, Marine General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said the bomb sent 5mm ball bearings ripping through a packed crowd at the airport's Abbey Gate. The investigation found no definitive proof of any gunfire, reported Tolo News.

"I want to acknowledge that the investigation differs from what we initially believed on the day of the attack," McKenzie said. "At the time, the best information we had in the immediate aftermath of the attack indicated that it was a complex attack by both a suicide bomber and ISIS-K gunmen," he added.

The bombing occurred on August 26 amid the evacuation of US nationals and at-risk Afghans from Kabul airport. According to McKenzie, no one was killed or injured by gunfire, adding that the explosively fired ball bearings caused wounds that looked like gunshots.

( With inputs from ANI )