Two top al-Qaeda leaders killed in northeastern Afghanistan

Afghanistan's spy agency says two top al-Qaeda leaders were killed in a drone airstrike in the country’s troubled northeastern region.

Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the top militant leaders had been killed during an aerial raid by the so-called US-led military alliance in the province of Kunar, which borders Pakistan.

"Faruq al-Qahtani, Bilal al-Utabi and a third member of the group were killed in a coalition strike in... Kunar province," the NDS said in a statement, without naming the third leader.

"The strike was carried out in coordination with NDS," the statement added.

An Afghan intelligence official in the province also said that two al-Qaeda operatives of Arab origin had been killed in the strike.

Abdul Ghani Mosamem, a provincial spokesman, said that the airstrike killed at least 15 militants, including two Arabs. Mosamem noted that a number of Pakistani Taliban militants were also among the fatalities.

US officials in Washington said on Wednesday that the strikes had targeted al-Qahtani and his deputy al-Utabi on Sunday.

They noted that multiple Hellfire missiles "leveled" two different compounds in Kunar where the men were believed to be hiding.

SS