Afghan officials say a senior Islamic State commander has been killed in a drone strike in the southern Helmand province.
The deputy provincial governor says the commander, identified as Abdul Rauf, was killed along with four other militants when a drone-fired missile struck their car.
Afghanistan's intelligence service issued a statement saying the suspected Islamic State commander was among six people killed in the strike, which it said was carried out by Afghan forces.
However there has been some confusion about the incident:
Helmand police chief says Mulah Raouf, #ISIS chief in #Afghanistan, killed in drone strikes while NDS says he's killed n military operation.— Bashir Ahmad Gwakh (@bashirgwakh) February 9, 2015
Disagreement? among @NDSAfghanistan & #Helmand officials on nature of Rauf's death. NDS say #Afghan Special Forces killd him. Others, #drone— Ali M Latifi (@alibomaye) February 9, 2015
The Islamic State group, which controls a third of Syria and Iraq, has a small but growing presence in parts of Afghanistan, officials and tribal sources told The Associated Press last month.
They said a man known as Mullah Abdul Rauf was actively recruiting fighters for the group.
Rauf is also known as Abdul Rauf Aliza and Maulvi Abdul Rauf Khadim, according to documents that were released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. A former Guantanamo Bay detainee, he was transferred to Afghanistan's control in 2007.