8 Subh, Kabul: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference today (Tuesday, September 21) that ISIS is not present in Afghanistan like Syria and Iraq. According to him, some Afghans may have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The Taliban spokesman called the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-KP) attack on Taliban vehicles in Nangarhar cowardly, chaotic, and aimless, emphasizing that the blasts would be the last IS-KP attack in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, he says that efforts are being made to prevent the group from operating in Afghanistan. “The group has no supporters and therefore cannot be a serious threat to the country,” according to Mujahid.
Several suspects are said to have been arrested in connection with the explosions in Nangarhar.
The city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province witnessed repeated explosions on Saturday and Sunday this week. The blasts are said to have targeted Taliban vehicles.
The blasts reportedly killed at least eight people and injured more than 20 others, including civilians.
The IS-KP has claimed responsibility for recent attacks on the Taliban in Jalalabad. The ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency claimed that nearly 35 Taliban members have been killed in the blasts.
The IS-KP chose Nangarhar as its capital after announcing its presence in Afghanistan in 2014. US forces recently carried out an airstrike in Nangarhar, killing the mastermind of a deadly IS-KP suicide attack at Kabul airport. The attack took place during the US-led evacuation of Kabul, in which nearly 200 people were killed, including 13 American soldiers.
