Taliban raid in Kabul neighbourhood kills two Daesh militants

Taliban security forces killed two militants from the Daesh group and detained a third in an overnight raid in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the spokesman for the Taliban government said on Monday.

The regional affiliate of the Daesh group — Daesh in Khorasan Province — is a key rival of the Taliban. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s minority community.

Separately, the Taliban gained control over the weekend of Afghanistan's Embassy in Iran, previously staffed with appointees of the US-backed Afghan government, and on Monday appointed their own diplomats to the mission.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the main Taliban government spokesman, the Kabul operation took place in a residential neighbourhood, targeting Daesh militants who were planning to organise attacks in the Afghan capital. He said the Kher Khana neighbourhood is an important Daesh hideout.

There was no immediate comment from the Daesh group.

Mujahid said two Daesh members were killed and one was arrested, and ammunition and military equipment were seized in the raid. There were no casualties among the Taliban forces during in the operation, he added.

In a separate operation this month, Taliban intelligence forces killed three Daesh militants and arrested one in an overnight operation in eastern part of Kabul, in Karti Naw neighbourhood. The Taliban had claimed that Daesh was behind organised recent attacks in the capital.

Overnight, posts on on social media reported several explosions and small-arms fire in the area of Kher Khana.

The Taliban swept across the country in mid-August 2021, seizing power as US and Nato forces were in the last weeks of their final withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. The international community has not recognised the Taliban government, wary of the harsh measures they have imposed since their takeover, restricting rights and freedoms, especially for of women and minorities.

Afghanistan’s economy has been sent into a tailspin since the takeover, with millions driven into poverty and hunger. Foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Sanctions on Taliban rulers, a halt on bank transfers and frozen billions in Afghanistan’s currency reserves abroad have already restricted access to global institutions and the outside money that supported the country’s aid-dependent economy before the US and Nato pullout.

This was “an important and helpful step in bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Iran”, Ahmad added.