Taliban on Monday announced the arrest of several members of the ISIS-Khorasan group during operations in Kabul and Nangarhar and Faryab provinces.
The detained individuals are accused of involvement in attacks, including an assault on tourists in Bamiyan and multiple incidents in Kabul, Taliban said.
Taliban claimed that the leader of the group is a Tajikistani national who was planning a suicide bombing.
The statement further alleges that these individuals had been trained in camps located in Mastung, Balochistan, before entering Afghanistan.
In separate operations in Farah and Kabul, the Taliban reported that two ISIS members were killed and several others arrested. However, the group did not disclose the exact number of those detained.
This announcement comes after repeated Taliban assertions that ISIS has no presence in Afghanistan and that the group has been eradicated. However, ISIS recently claimed responsibility for an attack on Thursday, September 12, in Daikundi province, where 14 Hazara civilians were killed.
The Taliban’s claims about the militants’ origins in Balochistan come as Pakistani officials have frequently accused Afghanistan of harboring terrorist groups such as ISIS-Khorasan, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and al-Qaeda under Taliban rule.
Regional powers, including Russia, have also expressed concerns about the ongoing activity and presence of ISIS in Afghanistan.
