KABUL — Afghanistan’s intelligence agency and the US military announced Tuesday that a series of joint US-Afghan operations killed a top leader of the Al Qaeda network along with a number of other members.

Omar bin Khatab was the most senior leader killed in Afghanistan since the Taliban was driven from power in late 2001, said an official with the Afghan National Directorate of Security.

The US military command in Afghanistan confirmed Tuesday the death of Khatab and multiple other al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, saying it had conducted several related operations in the last few weeks in Ghazni, Paktia and Zabul provinces. The Afghan intelligence agency said scores of other al Qaeda members were killed.

US military officials described Khatab as the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS. They said he was directly involved in fighting Afghanistan government and foreign troops and a role in advising the Taliban in night attacks using rockets and mortars.

Bin Khatab, also known as Omar Mansoor, was killed in air and ground operations in the Gilan district of Ghazni province southwest of the capital, the Afghan intelligence official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.

WASHINGTON POST