ISIS hideouts in Balkh province targeted in substantial strike: Taliban

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 19 : Taliban security forces targeted ISIS hideouts in Mazar-e-Sharif and called it a substantial strike against insurgents, said Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid on Saturday, reported Khaama Press.
On Saturday, Mujahid wrote on Twitter that special operations by Taliban security forces against ISIS militants had begun in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh.
According to Mujahid, the operation went on until late Friday night, and as a consequence, several ISIS militants were killed and one member of the Taliban security force was hurt.
Local sources, cited by Khaama Press, also reported a clash between Taliban security troops and rebels in Mazar-e-Sharif's Dashte Shor area.
Five Daesh militants killed in Friday night operations in Mazar-i-Sharif were Tajikistan and Uzbekistan nationals, according to an official statement, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
Three Daesh 'Khawarej' hideouts were destroyed on Friday night during intelligence-based operations in Mazar-i-Sharif's 5th, 8th, and 10th Police Districts, Balkh Police Spokesperson Mohammad Asif Wazir told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Five "Khawarej," who were nationals of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, he claimed, were killed in the operations.
Officials in Balkh recently claimed the assassination of eight rebels and kidnappers, however, the relatives of the deceased stated that the victims were innocent and worked for a construction company.
ISIS fighters have stepped up their attacks across Afghanistan with the advent of spring, especially in the northern provinces. Numerous journalists were killed and hurt in the assault on the Tabyan Cultural Center in Mazar-e-Sharif, which was carried out by militants from the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
Only eastern Nangarhar and Khost provinces had ISIS presence before the Taliban seized control of Kabul. Over the past 18 months, the militant group has quickly expanded its operations to other regions of Afghanistan.
According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), ISIS terrorists have been responsible for a number of deadly attacks in Kabul over the past few months, including those against the Russian Embassy, the Pakistani Embassy, and a hotel that accommodated Chinese nationals, read a report in Khaama Press.
"Given the current security situation in Afghanistan, the foreign ministry once again reminds our fellow citizens and institutions in Afghanistan to leave and evacuate the country as soon as possible, report their identity information to the Embassy, and at the same time take extra safety precautions and enhance emergency preparedness," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press conference on December 13, 2022.
After the attack, China advised its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country as soon as possible
In the meantime, the rebel organisation has carried out vicious attacks on educational facilities and even singled out senior Taliban leaders in Kabul.
According to several security and political experts, ISIS is the only active militant group in Afghanistan that poses dangers to the ruling regime because of the country's unstable security environment, Khaama Press reported.