KABUL, Afghanistan
At least 12 people were killed and several others were injured in fresh fighting between Taliban and Daesh fighters in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province Saturday, an Afghan army statement said Sunday.
The alleged day-long clash took place in the province’s Khogiani district, some 150 kilometers east of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
“The fierce fighting left six Daesh fighters dead and four others wounded,” the Afghan army’s east corps command said in a statement. “Daesh`s dreaded commander in the area, Qari Mirwais, was among those killed in the clash,” it said.
It added that at least seven Taliban militants were killed and eight others were injured in the incident.
Chief of Afghan Intelligence Agency Rahmatullah Nabil has voiced his concern over the presence of Daesh in Nangarhar province.
Addressing parliamentarians on Saturday, Nabil warned: “Nangarhar is one of our worrying points in term of activities of Daesh fighters”.
He clarified that as far as the Afghan security forces were concerned, there was no difference between Taliban and Daesh for them. “Both are enemies of Afghan people,” he said, adding that the next six months were crucial.
Daesh fighters have reportedly swept Taliban held areas in some districts of Nangarhar province. Earlier this month, Daesh killed three Taliban fighters, one of whom was beheaded. Several houses belonging to Taliban supporters were also reportedly set ablaze.
In comments made to Anadolu Agency, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid downplayed the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan. Last week, the Taliban leadership in a letter had warned fighters loyal to Daesh chief Abu Baker ul Baghdadi to stop interfering in Afghanistan.
In another development, Afghan intelligence agency said Sunday that Abdul Qahar Haqyar, Taliban`s alleged shadow governor for Door Baba district in Nangarhar province, and his five fighters had been arrested in Ghani Khil district.
Drone strike in Nuristan
The Afghan Ministry of Defense said in a statement Sunday that at least five Taliban militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike Saturday afternoon in eastern Nuristan province.
“A U.S. drone strike in Mardeesh district of Nuristan province has killed Taliban`s local commander, Ghulamullah along with two group commanders, Barakat and Mawlawi Khalil. Two more fighters were also killed in the attack,” the statement said.
U.S.-led coalition forces have intensified drone attacks against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters` in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.
Also, Afghan ministry of interior said that Afghan security forces had killed at least 43 Taliban militants and injured 25 others in Kunduz, Faryab, Helmand, Uruzgan, Nuristan and Ghazni provinces in recent operations.
Airstrikes in neighboring Pakistan
Meanwhile, the Pakistani army said it killed at least 23 suspected militants, foreigners among them, in airstrikes in Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan and Khyber Agency tribal regions near the Afghan border on Sunday.
The North Waziristan and Khyber Agency are two of the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan, and have been the prime target of Pakistani army's ground-and-air offensive since last June.
The figures provided by the Afghan and Pakistani military sources could not be independently verified because of the absence of impartial media in the remote areas where the incidents are said to have taken place.
Despite informal talks between Afghan government representatives and the Taliban in Norway, Qatar and Dubai, the fighting in Afghanistan has escalated following the launch of the Taliban’s spring offensive in April.
Afghan security forces assumed the responsibility for security from NATO-led international security forces at the end of 2014.
U.S.-led international forces ended combat missions in December of last year. However, nearly 13,000 international troops remain in an advisory capacity.
