Afghan forces have arrested the leader of the country's Islamic State group affiliate and the mastermind behind the attack on a gurudwara last month that killed 25 worshippers.

Authorities said that Aslam Farooqi, also known as Abdullah Orakzai, was arrested along with 19 other men in a complex operation. Farooqi was the mastermind behind an IS-claimed attack on the Gurdwara in Kabul.



Known as Islamic State in the Khorasan (IS-K), the Afghan IS branch has been on its back foot in recent months following continued operations by US forces and separately by the Taliban.