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Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said it had killed eight so-called Isis fighters and arrested nine others in an attack targeting key figures in a string of attacks in Kabul.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Wednesday’s attacks in the capital and western Nimroz province targeted militants who recently organized attacks on the Longan Hotel in Kabul, the Pakistani embassy and a military airport.
Eight Islamic State fighters, including foreigners, were killed in Kabul and seven others were arrested, Mr Mujahid said, while two more were arrested in another operation in western Nimroz province.
“These members played a major role in the attack on Chinese hotels and paved the way for foreign IS members to come to Afghanistan,” Mujahid said in a tweet.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly blast near a checkpoint at a military airport in the Afghan capital on Sunday.
It said the attack was carried out by the same militants who took part in the Long An hotel attack in mid-December.
Since the Taliban took over in 2021, the regional affiliate of Isis — known as Islamic State in Khorasan province and the Taliban’s main rival — has increased attacks in Afghanistan.
Targets included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority.
The Islamic State released a photo of the attacker, identifying him as Abdul-Jabbar and saying he escaped the attack on the hotel safely after running out of ammunition.
It added that he detonated a vest filled with explosives, targeting soldiers gathered at the checkpoint.
Mr Mujahid said Taliban security forces confiscated small arms, grenades, mines, vests and explosives during a raid on an Islamic State hideout in the Shah Dei Salihim neighbourhood.
Local residents reported hearing several explosions and hours of gunfights.
The Taliban swept across the country in August 2021, seizing power in the final weeks of the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
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