Islamic State says Afghanistan leader still alive
Islamic State on July 13 released an audio tape it said was of the movement's leader for Afghanistan, contradicting reports that he was killed in a US drone strike.
The message purportedly from Hafez Saeed was posted to an IS website two days after the Afghan intelligence agency said he had been killed.
The audio could not be independently verified.
Saeed, a Pakistani, was reportedly killed in the Achin district of Nangarhar province late on July 11, the intelligence agency said.
Saeed switched allegiance last year from the Taliban to Islamic State in Afghanistan.
Islamic State figures have been targets for US drone strikes, which killed three other IS commanders in the same area in a week, including Shahidullah Shahid and Gul Zaman.
After pushing out the Taliban insurgents, Islamic State fighters have in the past two months gained ground in several districts of Nangarhar province, which shares a long and porous border with lawless areas inside Pakistan.