By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
April 9, 2023
An operation on April 9 carried out by forces of the Taliban-led Afghan government killed two Islamic State (IS) fighters and took a third militant into custody during an operation in the country’s southwest, a regional official said.
The raid on a hideout in Zaranj, capital of Nimroz Province, sparked a clash lasting 30 minutes between Taliban and IS militants, Habibullah Ilham, the province’s information and culture director, told RFE/RL.
Two insurgents were killed in the operation and one was captured, Ilham said, adding that there were no casualties among the security forces and no civilians were harmed.
A video sent to Radio Azadi shows that Taliban forces first targeted a house and the clash then begins. A resident of the area, who did not want his name and voice used due to security problems, told Radio Azadi that the clash lasted for almost an hour and that heavy weapons were used.
The regional affiliate of the IS group — known as the Islamic State-Khorasan — has been the key rival of the Taliban-led government since the group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The group recently increased its attacks, targeting both Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shi’ite minority.
Taliban forces have responded by carrying out military operations this month against the IS group in several provinces of Afghanistan. The Intelligence Department of the Taliban-led government previously claimed to have carried out operations similar to the one on April 9 in Mazar-e Sharif, Baghlan, and Nimroz.
The department announced on April 2 that in one of the operations it arrested an important member of the IS group in northern Afghanistan who was involved in the planning of several attacks.
Afghan security forces last week killed six members of the extremist group in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh Province, a Taliban spokesman said on April 4.
But Atta Mohammad Noor, a member of the leadership of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, said that Taliban forces are hitting others in their efforts against IS.
One family, for example, claimed that eight civilians killed by the Taliban in the 7th district of Mazar-e Sharif on charges of rebellion and kidnapping were innocent.
Authorities are serious about ridding Afghanistan of Islamic State militants, deputy Afghan government spokesman Bilal Karimi told the AP.
“The Islamic State has no place in the country or among the people, nor does the Islamic emirate allow it,” he said. “The number of [IS] fighters killed or arrested so far is in the hundreds, but there is no exact number.”
The Taliban announces military operations against IS almost every day, although many officials, including Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahidand and the country’s acting minister of foreign affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, say they do not consider IS to be a threat to Afghanistan.
The UN Security Council warned in March about the increase in the number of militants and the threat of IS in Afghanistan.
The U.S. Central Command has estimated that 2,250 IS militants are in Afghanistan and also has said that it is possible they would target American assets and those of their allies.
With reporting by AP
Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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