ISLAMABAD (AP) — Taliban security forces killed two Islamic State militants and arrested a third during an overnight raid on the capital Kabul, a Taliban government spokesman said Monday.
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State (the extremist group’s most popular acronym), known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, is a crucial rival of the Taliban. ISIS has intensified its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of the country’s Shia minority.
According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government in Kabul, the operation took place in a residential area, targeting IS militants who were planning to stage attacks in the Afghan capital. He said members of the extremist group often hide in the Kher Khana neighborhood.
Islamic State has not yet commented.
Mujahid said two ISIS operatives were killed in the raid, another was arrested, and ammunition and military equipment was seized. Taliban forces suffered no casualties, he added.
In a separate operation this month, Taliban intelligence forces killed three Islamic State militants and arrested one during a nighttime operation in the Karti Naw neighborhood in eastern Kabul. The Taliban government had said the extremist group was behind recent attacks in the capital.
Overnight, social media posts reported several explosions and small arms fire in the Kher Khana region.
The Taliban seized power in mid-August 2021, at a time when US and NATO forces were in the final weeks of a final withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.