Makhdum Nusrat, the senior leader in Afghanistan of terrorist outfit Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), was killed in an encounter with Afghan-NATO troops on Monday.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Tuesday that an Afghan Special Unit and coalition troops conducted an operation in Shirin Tagab district in the north-western province of Faryab to detain the terrorist leader.
During the operation, insurgents fired on the combined security force. The force returned fire, killing Makhdum and many of his associates. Two IMU militants were detained and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, multiple rockets, several AK-47s and grenades were confiscated.
Makhdum was the highest-ranking IMU insurgent operating in Afghanistan. He led attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the northern provinces for the last eight months and was plotting the assassination of an Afghan Parliament member in Kabul, the statement said.
Blacklisted by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, IMU is closely linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It carries out attacks in the northern region of Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries.
IMU has reportedly opened training camps in Waziristan and is now involved with other groups attempting to overthrow the Pakistan government.
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