A Pakistani bomb-maker who trained Taliban members before switching allegiance to al-Qaeda has been killed in a security operation in western Afghanistan, the country’s intelligence agency said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the National Directorate of Security said Mohammad Hanif was a close aide to Asim Omar, who headed al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and was killed in a joint US-Afghan operation in 2019.

The agency said Hanif, originally from Karachi, had “close relations” with the Taliban and helped train fighters in making car bombs and improvised explosive devices.

It said he was initially a member of the Taliban, but joined al-Qaeda in 2010.

Read more: Al Jazeera