Afghanistan’s government claimed Sunday that it had killed one of al-Qaeda’s top propagandists who was also on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
The Associated Press reported that the country allegedly killed Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known as Abu Muhsin al-Masri, though details of the killing are sparse.
“Details over the raid that led to al-Rauf’s alleged death remained murky hours after Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence service claimed on Twitter to have killed him in Ghazni province,” the AP reported. “Al-Qaida did not immediately acknowledge al-Rauf’s reported death. The FBI, the U.S. military and NATO did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Afghan raid happened last week in Kunsaf, a village in Ghazni province’s Andar district some 90 miles southwest of Kabul, two government officials said.”
Al-Rauf’s death comes after “weeks of violence, including a suicide bombing by the Islamic State group Saturday at an education center near Kabul that killed 24 people,” the outlet added.
It is unclear how authorities confirmed al-Rauf’s death or how they learned where he would be at the time of the attack. Amanullah Kamrani, the deputy head of Ghazni’s provincial council, told the AP that Afghan’s special forced raided the village of Kunsaf to kill al-Rauf. Six other suspected militants also died in the raid.
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Kamrani alleged, without providing evidence, that the Taliban had been offering shelter and protection to al-Rauf. The Taliban told the AP on Sunday they are investigating the incident.
If the Taliban had provided protection for al-Rauf that would violate the terms of its Feb. 29 deal with the U.S. that jump-started the Afghan peace talks. That deal saw the Taliban agree “not to cooperate with groups or individuals threatening the security of the United States and its allies,” which includes al-Qaeda.
In a statement, the Afghan presidential palace announced al-Rauf’s death and warned that his position “proved that the threat of terrorism and the Taliban’s links to terrorist networks are still in place.”
“The Taliban should prove to the people, the government of Afghanistan and the international community that they are ending their links with terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda,” the statement added. They “should stop the war and violence and facilitate a dignified and sustainable peace in the country.”
Al-Rauf was also on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorist” list along with 27 others. A warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2018 by federal prosecutors in New York, alleging he had provided support to al-Qaeda and conspired to kill Americans, the AP reported.
“The red-headed al-Rauf, believed to be born in 1958, is an Egyptian national. An al-Qaeda-issued biography said he joined the mujahedeen fighters who battled the Soviet Union in 1986,” the AP reported. “He has served for years as al-Qaida’s media chief, offering audio statements and written articles backing the militant group. After years of remaining silent following the acknowledgement of Taliban founder Mullah Omar’s death, al-Rauf re-emerged in 2018 in an audio statement in which he mocked President Donald Trump and those who preceded him the White House.”