Daesh beheads 15 members in Afghanistan after infighting

The Daesh terrorist group has beheaded at least 15 of its own members in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, local officials say.

Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman, said on Thursday that the Takfiri militants were executed following an infighting among them in the Achin district of the province.

Daesh has taken advantage of the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan to establish a foothold in the country and recruited some of its fighters from among Taliban defectors. As a result, the Taliban and Daesh have frequently fought each other in Nangarhar and elsewhere.

According to Afghan intelligence documents, security officials believe Daesh is present in nine provinces, from Nangarhar and Kunar in the east to Jawzjan, Faryab and Badakhshan in the north and Ghor in the central west.

The terrorist outfit, which has become notorious for its brutality, began establishing a notable presence in Afghanistan almost a year after making sweeping land grabs in Iraq and Syria in 2014. 

It has mostly been populating the eastern province of Nangarhar, from where it has carried out high-profile brutal attacks against major population centers in the Central Asian country.

Former President Hamid Karzai recently said that the US was colluding with Daesh in Afghanistan and allowing the Takfiri group to flourish in the war-stricken country. 

PressTV-US colluding with Daesh in Afghanistan: Karzai

The terrorist outfit began establishing a notable presence in Afghanistan almost a year after making sweeping land grabs in Iraq and Syria in 2014. 

Bombing in Jalalabad 

On Thursday, a bomb attack killed eight people and wounded 17 others in Nangarhar's provincial capital of Jalalabad.

According to Khogyani, the bomber approached a crowd who were demonstrating in support of a local police commander and calling for his reinstatement after his dismissal. 

"Unfortunately, eight people were killed, all of them civilians," the provincial spokesman said. A further 15 people, including children, were wounded in the explosion.

Najib Kamawal, the provincial health director, said some of those wounded were in serious condition. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack.

Taliban militants were removed from power following the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, but they have stepped up activities in recent months, attempting to overrun several regions.

During the past 16 years, the militants have been conducting terrorist attacks across the country, killing and displacing civilians. Many parts of Afghanistan remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

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