Afghan Taliban, Lashkar-i-Islam condemn Jalalabad bombing

PESHAWAR: The Afghan Taliban movement and the Pakistani militant group, Lashkar-i-Islam, have condemned the suicide bombing in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan that killed 34 persons on Saturday.
Through its spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan Taliban distanced itself from the suicide attack and two other smaller bomb explosions in Jalalabad on Saturday and criticized attacks that caused harm to civilians.
The condemnation of the Jalalabad suicide bombing by the Afghan Taliban was understandable as the claim for responsibility was made by the Islamic State, or Daesh, which has emerged as a rival to the Mulla Mohammad Omar-led Afghan Taliban movement in Afghanistan. Some Afghan Taliban fighters have joined the Islamic State in Afghanistan, but an overwhelming majority of Taliban is still loyal to Mulla Omar.
The Lashkar-i-Islam, headed by one of the most wanted militant Mangal Bagh and operating mainly in Khyber Agency, also condemned the Jalalabad suicide bombing. The banned group’s spokesman, Salahuddin Ayubi, called reporters from an undisclosed location to denounce “this cowardly attack as it targetted innocent civilians.” He said Lashkar-i-Islam was opposed to Islamic State and had no concern or alliance with it or its affiliates.
Islamic State’s spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, who was earlier the spokesman of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad bombing. It was the first attack by the Islamic State in Afghanistan. The group had earlier conducted its first attack in Pakistan’s Orakzai Agency.