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Top Daesh commanders killed in counter-terror ops in Afghanistan, say Taliban

Tuesday, 28 February 2023 9:27 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 28 February 2023 10:16 AM ]

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 17, 2021. (Photo by Anadolu Agency)

Senior Daesh terrorist group commanders have been killed in separate counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement issued late on Monday said "the intelligence and operations chief of Daesh" in Afghanistan was among the two individuals killed in a military raid on the Takfiri group's hideout late Sunday.

The slain terrorist leader, identified as Qari Fateh, had masterminded recent attacks against diplomatic missions, mosques and other targets in the Afghan capital, the statement noted.

"The criminal was served justice last night for his brutal actions at the hands of IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] special forces during a complex operation in the Kher Khana residential area [in Kabul]," Mujahid said, using the official title for the de-facto Taliban government.

The spokesman also confirmed in his statement that the Daesh network chief for the Indian subcontinent, Ijaz Amin Ahangar, was killed in a Taliban counter-terrorism operation earlier this month along with his associates.

Mujahid also announced that "a number of Daesh members, including foreigners" were arrested in recent days in the country, without giving details.

US support for Daesh in Afghanistan

The US effectively fought a war in Afghanistan for twenty years, with a budget of over 2.1 trillion dollars, just to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

Mujahid's statement was shortly followed by a US report that said "roughly 2,000 to 3,000" Daesh terrorists are operating in the war-torn South Asian country and carrying out terrorist activities.

The armed forces affiliated with the de-facto Taliban government in Afghanistan have carried out several operations against the local branch of the Daesh terrorist group since returning to power in August 2021 as US-led foreign troops withdrew from the country.

For its part, the terrorist group has launched a series of high-profile attacks targeting civilians, government officials, and foreign diplomatic missions.

While Daesh sees the Taliban as an irreconcilable enemy that needs to be militarily defeated, the Taliban see Daesh as an evil force that has no place in Afghanistan.

In the months leading to the US ouster from Afghanistan, thousands of terrorists reportedly made their way to the country and were recruited by Daesh. Most of them infiltrated the country under the nose of US-led allied forces.

The latest spell of violence in the crisis-hit South Asian country and the resurgence of the Daesh terrorist group have created fresh security challenges for the Taliban government in Kabul, which is yet to be formally recognized by the international community.

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