ISIS-K Commander Behind Deadly Peshawar Bombing Killed in Balkh

DID Press: A senior commander of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), identified as Mohammad Ehsani, also known as “Anwar,” was killed in a security operation in northern Mazar-e-Sharif city of Balkh province, officials confirmed.

Ehsani, an ethnic Tajik, was a key figure within ISIS-K and is believed to have played a central role in planning and executing a series of deadly suicide attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the 2022 Peshawar mosque bombing that killed 67 people — one of the deadliest ISIS-K attacks in Pakistan.

According to security sources, Ehsani was also responsible for recruiting and training suicide bombers, particularly from Tajik backgrounds, for operations targeting sites inside Pakistan.

Authorities described him as a “core operational leader” within ISIS-K, noting that extensive intelligence and security efforts had been underway for months to locate and eliminate him.

The killing comes amid intensified counterterrorism operations by Pakistani security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other border regions targeting militant groups such as ISIS-K and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In one recent operation in September 2025, three ISIS-K members were reportedly killed.

Recent UN reports estimate that ISIS-K maintains roughly 2,000 fighters inside Afghanistan and continues to recruit members both domestically and abroad. The group has also been accused of training children for suicide missions.