Taliban kill three IS kidnappers in shootout

HERAT, Afghanistan: Taliban forces on Sunday killed three alleged kidnappers of the Islamic State after an intense three-hour gun battle with the IS group, the officials said.

The clash erupted in the western Afghan city of Heart, when the new Taliban government’s fighters cornered the gang in a high-rise building, Herat Police Command said in a statement. Local residents said they heard light and heavier weapons were used in the fighting. Police said three Islamic State members were killed and two Taliban personnel were wounded in the clash. Videos circulating on the social media appeared to show that at least one suspect was shot dead after he had been detained and disarmed during a scuffle with his captors. The footage also showed the victorious Taliban forces driving through the town with three corpses exposed on the back of a pick-up truck, as cheering supporters followed on the motorbikes.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti tweeted that the three Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) members were involved in major kidnappings across Herat province. “Special forces surrounded them, and they started firing. The men were killed in a shootout with the security forces.”

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August, overthrowing the previous US-backed government and vowed to restore stability after the 20-year war. But, their efforts have been undermined by a series of attacks claimed by the IS-K, another hardline Sunni Islamist group that has a bitter rivalry with the Taliban.