Islamabad, September 29 (HS): A senior commander of the terrorist group ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), Mohammed Ehsani alias Anwar, who was involved in the March 4, 2022, Peshawar attack, has been killed in Afghanistan. ISIS-K, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State (IS), operates across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Central Asia. The group was formed in 2015 by former members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban.

According to The Express Tribune, security sources in Rawalpindi confirmed on Sunday that Ehsani was killed in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Officials stated that he played a major role in promoting terrorism inside Pakistan. He was responsible for training Tajik suicide bombers and smuggling them across the border into Pakistan to carry out attacks.

Ehsani was identified as the key architect of the Peshawar Kocha Risaldar blast that killed 67 people. He was directly involved in the March 4, 2022, suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, in which 63 worshippers were killed and over 190 injured. The attack took place in the Kocha Risaldar area near Qissa Khwani Bazaar.

The assailant, Islamic State militant Julaybib al-Kabuli, first opened fire outside the mosque during prayers before storming inside and detonating his explosive vest.The Peshawar bombing was among the deadliest attacks in Pakistan’s recent history. It triggered a surge in assaults by IS and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants across the country. Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in cross-border terrorism.While the Taliban and ISIS-K are bitter rivals due to ideological and strategic differences, ISIS-K has carried out several major attacks in Afghanistan.

Among its most high-profile strikes was the August 2021 suicide attack at Kabul airport, which killed U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians during the chaotic withdrawal of American forces.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar