Afghanistan claims killing Al-Qaida leader wanted by FBI

Kabul, October 25

Afghanistan on Sunday claimed that it killed a top Al-Qaida propagandist on an FBI most-wanted list during an operation in the country's east, showing the militant group's continued presence there as US forces work to withdraw from America's longest-running war amid continued bloodshed there. The reported death of Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhsin al-Masri, follows weeks of violence including an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing Saturday at an education center near Kabul that killed 24 persons.

Meanwhile, the Afghan government continues to fight Taliban militants even as peace talks in Qatar between the two sides take place for the first time. The violence and al-Rauf's reported killing threatens the face-to-face peace talks and risks plunging this nation beset by decades of war into further instability. — AP