IS fighters surrender in Afghanistan's north, officials say

More than 150 Islamic State fighters surrendered in Afghanistan today, Afghan officials said, a move which they and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country.

NATO urged caution, saying it was premature to write the group off in the region.

The surrender came after weeks of intense fighting between IS and the Taliban in Jowzjan province in the north, and continuing pressure from Afghan and US forces.

It also came as the Afghan army took over security in the eastern city of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province which is an IS stronghold, after a wave of attacks mostly claimed by the group.

In Jowzjan, Afghan officials described the surrender as a turning point.

"Their fighters have surrendered in the past, but this time it is more important because the Daesh leader and deputy surrendered with more than 150 fighters all at once," Mohammad Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the army's
"The only strategy that can keep them going is to attack soft targets and that is what they have been doing recently."