Rival Taliban groups battle each other

Mullah Mohammad Rasul, leader of a dissident Taliban faction calling itself the High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate, told a November 7 rally in the western Herat province that the group will not harm any “mujahedin – whether they are Daesh [the IS militant group] or Al-Qaeda – who are fighting in other countries”.

Analysts have long pointed to divisions within the Taliban, but this is the first time a rivalry has burst into the open.

Elsewhere, another 12 Daesh members were killed during an operation by Afghan forces in eastern Nangarhar province.

In Zabul, the fight between supporters of Taliban’s leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and dissent Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah Mansoor, also backed by Uzbek Daesh fighters, broke out two days ago in Arghandab district.

Groups associated with the IS have made growing inroads in Afghanistan in recent years, attracting fighters and support away from disenchanted members of the Taliban.

Arghandab district chief Haji Mahmand Nasratyar confirmed the clashes were ongoing and said tens of militants on both sides had suffered casualties.

The four men and three women were all Hazaras, an ethnic minority who are predominantly Shiite, he said, and all had been beheaded.

“A fierce battle is going on in the district”, he added. A police official said that the Taliban had captured a few of the areas controlled by the Islamic State.

Militant cells in Pakistan and Afghanistan, traditionally aligned with the Taliban, have since October 2014 pledged allegiance to IS, a terrorist group holding territory in Iraq and Syria.

Afghan national forces, who took over from global troops after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ended most combat operations previous year, have struggled to contain the spreading insurgency and remained reliant on its allies for air and logistical support.

The two rival militant outfits have so far said nothing about the latest incidents.