The head of the Islamic State terrorist group in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region has been killed in a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan, intelligence officials and militant commanders say.

Hafiz Saeed was among 30 ISIL-linked militants killed in the strike in Nangarhar province, close to the Pakistani border, Afghanistan’s spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said.

Two ISIL-affiliated commanders in Afghanistan who said they were present when the strike happened confirmed Saeed’s death to reporters.

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Analysts say the ISIL presence in Afghanistan is still thought to be at an embryonic stage and the killing of Saeed will come as a blow to the group’s efforts to establish itself as a serious force.

“Hafiz Saeed, ISIS leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan was killed in a drone strike,” the NDS said in a statement.

“As a result of drone strike in Achin district on gathering place of Daesh [IS], 30 people associated with Daesh including their leader Hafiz Seed were killed.”

The two militant commanders, who used to be with the Taliban, speaking by phone from an undisclosed location, said they were present when the drone strike happened.

The strike took place while a meeting of the commanders was going on, they said, adding that Saeed’s badly mutilated body was buried soon afterwards.

It comes less than six months after a drone strike in Afghanistan killed Abdul Rauf Khadim, who was thought to be the ISIL number two in the country.

On Monday two US drone strikes in Achin targeted suspected ISIL militants, killing 49 people, according to local officials.

Fierce clashes have been reported in recent months between fighters newly aligned with ISIL and Taliban cadres determined to preserve their dominance.

NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December, leaving local forces to battle the Taliban alone, but a residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.

A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan confirmed a “precision strike” was carried out in Nangarhar on Friday but did not give details of the target.