20 IS terrorists killed in Afghanistan

An Afghan Defence Ministry statement confirmed on Sunday the deaths of 20 Islamic State terror group members during an operation in the northern part of the country.

The statement corrected prior information released by the spokesperson of the Jawzjan province governorate, Mohammad Reza Rezai who, speaking to Efe news agency, had announced that 31 IS militants had been killed in the past 48 hours during a land and air operation in Darzab district.

According to his information, three foreigners, two commanders and the terror group's provincial intelligence chief, had been killed in the operation.

The Defence Ministry statement said: "During an operation in Darzab district of Jawzjan 20 Daesh (IS) fighters, including a local commander named Mohammad Yusof, were killed, and 16 others wounded."

This operation comes after the Afghan armed forces killed the IS leader in Jawzjan, Qari Hekmat, in a bombing, also in Darzab, last week.

The IS began operations in Afghanistan around 2015, occupying the town of Nangarhar on the border with Pakistan which then became their main bastion on Afghan soil.

Since then, the IS has claimed some of the worst terrorist attacks in the country despite Kabul's claim that its presence was limited to a few remote areas.

--IANS

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