Kabul, Afghanistan. A senior Al Qaeda leader, Husam Abd Rauf, who also went by the name Abu Muhsin Masri, has been killed by Afghan Security forces. He was one of the “Most Wanted” in the US list of terrorists.

Rauf, an Egyptian national is believed to be Al Qaeda’s second-in-command and has served for years as Al Qaeda’s media chief, offering audio statements and written articles backing the militant group. He was accused of providing support to a foreign terrorist organization and being part of a conspiracy to kill US citizens.The US issued a warrant for his arrest after the FBI put him on the “Most Wanted Terrorists” list  in December 2018.

Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence service claimed on Twitter on Saturday to have killed him in Ghazni province.

Breaking news : as a result of NDS special force unit operation in ghazni province an al-Qaida key member for Indian sub contanint, Abu Muhsen Almisry were killed pic.twitter.com/4fmWzA5T4e

— NDS Afghanistan (@NDSAfghanistan) October 24, 2020

Amanullah Kamrani, the deputy head of Ghazni’s provincial council, told the Associated Press that Afghan special forces led by the intelligence agency stormed an isolated home and killed seven suspected militants in a gunfight in the village of Kunsaf. One among the killed was Rauf, Kamrani said. Kamrani alleged that Rauf had been provided shelter and protection by the Taliban.

If the accusation turned true, it would violate the Taliban’s February 29 deal with the US which had opened the path for 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. The Taliban told the AP on Sunday that they were investigating the incident, without further explanations.

Though the Al Qaeda has not made any comment on Rauf’s death, the head of the US National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chris Miller, confirmed it 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”.

The Afghan government is fighting against the Taliban militants even as peace talks in Qatar between the two sides have begun last month for the first time. The increasing violence and al-Rauf’s killing could disrupt the peace talks and deteriorate the security of the already unstable country.