Daesh terrorists killed in Afghan special forces raid: regional official

Afghanistan's special forces have killed two Daesh militants and arrested a third during an operation in the country's west, a regional official has said.

The raid on the hideout in the district of Sayed Abad in Nimroz province sparked a clash lasting 30 minutes on Sunday, said Mufti Habibullah Ilham, the province’s information and culture director.

Ilham said there were no casualties among the troops or civilians and that some military equipment was seized.

The regional affiliate of the Daesh group — known as Daesh-K — has been the key rival of the ruling Taliban since the group's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

Daesh has increased its attacks in Afghanistan, targeting both Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority. 

On Friday, Taliban's security forces killed a Daesh terrorist during an operation in northern Parwan province. 

They also arrested three women and seven children, said Hikmatullah Shamim, a spokesman for the Parwan governor.

READ MORE: Daesh terrorists killed in Taliban's overnight raid in Balkh province

'Daesh has no place here'

Deputy Afghan government spokesman Bilal Karimi said authorities were serious about Afghanistan’s boundaries and sovereignty.

“Daesh has no place in the country or among the people, nor does the Islamic emirate allow it,” he told The Associated Press news agency. 

“The number of (Daesh) militants killed or arrested so far is in the hundreds, but there is no exact number.”

The Daesh terror group has claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile attacks in Afghanistan. 

It said one of its members was behind a deadly bombing near a checkpoint in January at Kabul’s military airport, the same man who took part in an assault on a hotel in the capital last December and a gun attack on the Pakistani embassy.

READ MORE: Deadly bomb blast targets minivan in Afghanistan's Herat