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Who was Abu Muhsin al-Masri? Afghan security forces kill senior Al-Qaeda leader on FBI's most-wanted list

The news of his killing comes as peace talks continue in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government in a bid to end the long-running war

Afghan security forces on Saturday, October 24, announced that they have killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, who was a senior al-Qaeda leader and was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Most Wanted Terrorist list, according to Afghanistan’s intelligence service.

Egyptian national Al-Masri who is also known by the name, Husam Abd-al-Ra'uf, was believed to be al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, was killed during a special operation in the central Ghazni province, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a tweet late on Saturday, October 24. "Breaking news: as a result of NDS special force unit operation in Ghazni province an al-Qaida key member for Indian sub continent, Abu Muhsen Almisry were killed," NDS Afghanistan tweeted on Saturday. 

According to a Daily Mail report  the head of the US National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chris Miller, confirmed Al-Masri's death in a statement, saying his "removal... from the battlefield is a major setback to a terrorist organization that is consistently experiencing strategic losses facilitated by the United States and its partners." Earlier, he has been charged in the United States for providing material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, and for conspiring to kill U.S. nationals.

Former Director of NDS, Afghanistan, Rahmatullah Nabil, tweeted, "Number two of AQIS has been killed by NDS-SF in Ghazni. He and some other members of AQIS were frequently traveling between Shawwal Valley and Ghazni since several months." To which another Internet user questioned, "Will you please tell how the militants move from Gomel to shawal valley? Shawal valley doesn't share border with Gomal , all the routes to shawal are blocked by PakArmy and TTP controlling the border parts on Afghanistan Bermal district of Paktika that share border with shawal"

The news of his killing comes as peace talks continue in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government in a bid to end the long-running war.  According to an Al Arabiya report, "The United States has been gradually drawing down its troops from Afghanistan after striking a landmark deal with the Taliban in February. That deal is set to see foreign forces leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which agreed to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government."