Daesh-Taliban clash in Nangarhar leaves 6 dead

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Six Daesh (Islamic State) fighters have been killed and as many wounded during a clash in the Khogyani district of eastern Nangarhar province, the army said on Wednesday.

A statement from the 201st Selab Military Corps said the gunbattle erupted between the insurgent groups in the Pirkhel area of the district. Six Daesh rebels were killed and 12 others, including eight Taliban, wounded.

Taliban confirmed the firefight. Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement the IS fighters captured civilian homes and forced area people to leave.

He said Taliban militants had reclaimed some areas since Tuesday, but the government and US forces targeted them in support of Daesh.

But provincial authorities rejected the claim. Daesh has said nothing in this regard so far.

NATO, Gen John Nicholson, says IS fighters in Nangarhar had been defeated and many of the rebel outfit’s leaders killed.

sa/mud