Defense Department officials confirmed Friday evening that Hafiz Sayed Khan, the leader of Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was killed by a U.S.-Afghan Special Operations Force airstrike last month.

"U.S. forces conducted an airstrike targeting Hafiz Sayed Khan, the Islamic State in the Levant-Khorasan emir, in Achin district, Nangarhar province July 26, resulting in his death," according to a statement from Pentagon deputy press secretary Gordon Trowbridge.

Khan was known for his direct participation in attacks against U.S. and ally forces, as well as acts against Afghans in the Khorasan region of the country due to its high Islamic State population, who are fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban for land and oil.

The region had been used to train fighters, who were then sent out to join members on the battlefields in other provinces and countries.

Trowbridge said Khan's death "affects ISIL-K recruiting efforts and will disrupt ISIL-K's operations in Afghanistan and the region."

It's the second killing of a terrorist leader in recent months. In May, a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour.