Afghanistan's Taliban, which calls its government the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), announced on Thursday that eight members of the Daesh* group were killed, and seven others arrested in a series of operations carried out by the IEA's security forces in the country's capital Kabul, and in the province of Nimroz.
“An operation was carried out in the Qalacha and Shuhada-e-Salehin areas of Kabul city against the hideouts of Daesh, 8 Daesh members were killed, and 7 others were captured alive,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokespman of IEA, said on Twitter.
The Taliban claimed that the suspects were responsible for attacks on the Longan Hotel - an inn popular with Chinese tourists - and the strike on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul. The authorities added that Daesh members were planning to carry out further attacks on other important locations, and had been involved in the arrival of foreign terrorists to Afghanistan.
A large number of weapons and explosives were reportedly discovered, and a number of suspects were detained for further investigation.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Afghanistan, including a recent attack on a military airport in Kabul that left more than a dozen people killed or injured. The group has not yet commented on the Taliban's statements.
*Daesh, also known as IS/ISIS/Islamic State is a terrorist group banned in Russia and globally
**Taliban is under UN sanctions over terrorism