Taliban: Senior IS commanders killed in counter-terrorist operations in Afghanistan

Senior commanders of the terrorist group IS have been killed in various counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities said. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement released late Monday that "ISIS's chief of intelligence and operations" in Afghanistan was among the two people killed in a military attack on the terrorist group's hideout late Sunday were killed. The slain terrorist leader, identified as Qari Fateh, has directed recent attacks on diplomatic missions, mosques and other targets in the Afghan capital, the statement said.

"Justice was brought to the criminal last night for his brutal actions by IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] special forces during a complex operation in the Kher Khana residential area [in Kabul]," Mujahid said, using the official designation for the de facto Taliban -Government. The spokesman also confirmed in his statement that the head of the IS network for the Indian subcontinent, Ijaz Amin Ahangar, was killed along with his associates in a Taliban counter-terrorism operation earlier this month.

Mujahid also announced that "a number of ISIS members, including foreigners," have been arrested in the country in recent days, without giving details. Mujahid's statement was followed shortly thereafter by a US report that said "approximately 2,000 to 3,000" ISIS terrorists are operating and conducting terrorist activities in the war-torn South Asian country. Forces linked to the de facto Taliban government in Afghanistan have conducted several operations against the local branch of the terrorist group IS since returning to power in August 2021, when US-led foreign troops withdrew from the country.

For its part, the terrorist group has launched a series of high-profile attacks on civilians, government officials and foreign diplomatic missions. While IS views the Taliban as an implacable enemy that must be defeated militarily, the Taliban see IS militia as an evil force that has no place in Afghanistan.In the months leading up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, thousands of terrorists reportedly entered the country and were recruited by IS. Most of them infiltrated the country under the noses of US-led Allies.

The latest wave of violence in the crisis-hit South Asian country and the resurgence of the terrorist group IS have presented the Taliban government in Kabul with new security challenges that have yet to be officially recognized by the international community.