Taliban, Daesh Clashes Leave 11 Dead İn Afghanistan

The Taliban and purported Daesh fighters have continued to clash in Afghanistan, with the latest round of fighting leaving 11 militants dead in eastern Afghanistan.



Nangarhar provincial police spokesperson Colonel Hazrat Hussein Mashriqiwal said there was a day-long clash between rival militant groups on Sunday in the province's Nazian district, some 150 kilometers east of the Afghan capital of Kabul.



"Currently, I can't confirm the identities of the fighting militants and their relevant groups," he told Anadolu Agency but said there would be an investigation after reports that the clashes involved fighters claiming to represent the Iraq and Syria-based Daesh. "At least it is confirmed that one side of the fighting was Taliban insurgents."



So-called Daesh fighters have reportedly swept Taliban-held areas in parts of Nangarhar province and, earlier this month, Daesh killed three Taliban fighters, one of whom was beheaded. 



Some former Taliban commanders have left the group and begun identifying themselves with Daesh after the group's territorial victories in Syria and Iraq, where they claim to have established an Islamic State despite it being rejected by Islamic scholars and leaders.  



An Afghan army officer from Bati Kot district, which neighbors Nazian, confirmed to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that it had been self-styled Daesh fighters fighting with the Taliban on Sunday and that the violence was part of a string of clashes. 



"Since the fight broke out between Taliban and Daesh fighters months ago, hundreds of families have been displaced from their villages and can't harvest their crops," the army officer said. 



Separately, at least three Taliban militants were killed by a U.S. drone strike in the same province on Sunday.



According to Mashriqiwal, a U.S. unmanned aircraft targeted the hideouts of insurgents in the Chaparhar district. - Kabil