Taliban confirms killing of two senior Daesh members in Afghanistan

Qari Fateh, the regional Daesh intelligence and operations chief, was killed during a raid in Kabul over the weekend, while senior leader Ijaz Amin Ahingar was killed earlier this month, according to a senior Taliban spokesman.

Two senior regional members of Daesh have been killed in Afghanistan in recent weeks in separate operations by the Taliban security forces, a Taliban spokesman has announced.

Taliban forces killed Qari Fateh, the regional Daesh intelligence and operations chief, during a raid in Kabul over the weekend, Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government, said in a statement.

A news outlet allied with Daesh on Tuesday posted confirmation of Fateh’s death on an Daesh-run Telegram chat.

Fateh previously served in different positions, including as military leader, of the terrorist group in Afghanistan.

Mujahid said that Fateh was the mastermind of attacks on diplomatic missions, mosques, and other targets in Kabul.

Earlier this month in a separate operation in Kabul, three Daesh members, including senior leader Ijaz Amin Ahingar, were killed.

Mujahid said that a number of other Daesh members, including foreign nationals planning deadly attacks, also have been detained in recent days.

Key rivals

The regional affiliate of Daesh is a key rival of the Taliban.

The group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021.

Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority.

In January, Mujahid claimed that the Taliban forces killed at least eight Daesh militants who were involved in attacks on Pakistan’s embassy and on a hotel where Chinese nationals were staying.

Earlier, in September 2022, at least two Russian Embassy staff and a civilian were killed while 10 others were wounded in a suicide attack in Kabul.

Last year, Daesh fighters targeted the Taliban’s religious seminaries, mosques, educational institutions, and foreign missions in Kabul and other parts of the country.

The Taliban swept across the country in mid-August 2021, seizing power as US and NATO forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.