Reports: U.S. drone kills leader of ISIS in Afghanistan, Pakistan

A U.S. drone strike last month reportedly killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the head of the Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan and the purported mastermind of a deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai eight years ago, according to multiple media reports.

The Mumbai siege in 2008 left 165 people dead along with nine terrorists. The Islamic State is believed to be responsible for an attack in Kabul on a rally of Shia Muslims that killed 80 last month.

Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal told Reuters that Khan, a former Pakistani Taliban member, was killed in a drone strike July 26 in eastern Nangharhar province that also killed several senior Islamic State commanders and fighters.

A U.S. defense official confirmed Saeed's death to the BBC. Major General Mohammad Zaman Wazir of the Afghan army also reported Saeed's death, along with 23 his commanders, according to the Afghan Tolo TV news channel.

It is the second time in two years Saeed was believed killed by a drone. A similar claim surfaced last year by Afghan intelligence agents, but the report was never confirmed.

It was also the second reported death of a high-profile extremist in the region in four months. In May, a U.S. drone killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the Afghan Taliban leader, according to U.S. officials.