Islamic State Terrorists Kill Local Intelligence Chief In Eastern Afghanistan - Source

Faizan Hashmi Published January 11, 2022 | 01:23 PM

The intelligence chief of Bati Kot district in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar has been killed in an attack carried out by militants of the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia as a terrorist group), a source told Sputnik on Tuesday

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2022) The intelligence chief of Bati Kot district in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar has been killed in an attack carried out by militants of the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia as a terrorist group), a source told Sputnik on Tuesday.

According to the source, terrorists ambushed Abid Bashir, the head of the Islamic Emirate Intelligence Agency on Monday night, while he was patrolling the district area.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the source claimed that Bashir was apparently killed by the IS militants due to a major offensive that he had launched earlier against the IS terrorists in Bati Kot district.

Abid Bashir was one of the key commanders of the Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) in Nangarhar province, who had twice before escaped after militant ambush.

The Taliban-IS standoff has been ongoing in Afghanistan since 2015, when IS militants began forming terrorist cells in the country and recruiting fighters, compromising the Taliban influence.

Fierce clashes erupted between the Taliban and the Islamists in Nangarhar, Logar and Farah provinces.

Since the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan in mid-August, the Islamists have allegedly carried out several terrorist attacks across the country, including the blast at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in August that killed more than 180 people, and an attack at a Shiite mosque in Kunduz city in October that resulted in over 150 deaths.

The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their commitment to eliminate the IS faction in Afghanistan and pledged to stop the attacks, saying they would make every effort to capture Shahab al-Muhajir, the IS local affiliate leader.