KUALA LUMPUR – After an intense gunfight in West Kabul on Thursday, Taliban militants captured six Islamic State (IS) operatives, two of whom are reportedly Malaysians.
According to a report by British publication The Times, the four other terrorists are Afghans. Together with the Malaysians, they fought for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Khorasan (Isis-K), the report said.
Isis-K is understood to be an offshoot of IS, which operates in South and Central Asia.
In Afghanistan, an ongoing turf war exists between the Taliban and Isis-K. The latter has branded the former as “filthy nationalists” who only want to form an Islamic administration within Afghanistan’s borders, as opposed to fighting for a global Islamic caliphate.
“Four are Afghans but it seems the other two are Malaysian,” Taliban criminal investigation department chief Saifullah Mohammed was quoted as telling The Times.
“They aren’t as tough as they think they are. We’ve just beaten the armies from 36 Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) countries so we know we can capture and kill the Daesh (Isis) wherever we find them.”
The report mentioned that the men had surrendered after a clash that occurred merely a few hours after a widely reported and deadly suicide attack at Kabul International Airport.
Saifullah said Isis-K has been conducting operations disguised as the mainly-Pashtun Taliban, sowing fear among the Afghans.
However, the Taliban has proudly hailed the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan as a victory for them as their fighters took control in various parts of the country.
Viewing this as their triumph, the Taliban have become confident in asserting that Isis-K can be easily defeated.
Although the US and the Taliban may have a mutual enemy in Isis-K, Saifullah was quoted as saying they would not need American help in their fight.
“We don’t need Western intelligence assets or high technology to defeat the Daesh.
“And we don’t want any American help in fighting them. We just want the Americans to go, and then we will deal with Daesh in the way we know,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the report, the gunfight is understood to have occurred after Taliban militants were alerted to reports of Isis-K gunmen shooting into people’s homes in Kabul.
On August 15, the media had reported that Taliban fighters had not only secured nearly all of Afghanistan, but also surrounded the capital of Kabul.
American forces merely maintained a presence at Kabul International Airport, helping Afghan and Western evacuees flee the country.
On August 26, however, militants suspected to be from Isis-K performed a suicide bomb attack near the airport, killing 200, including 13 American soldiers and two British nationals.
The chaotic scenario emerged after the US announced withdrawal of all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this month. This ends American presence in the country after 20 years.
The US and its allies had invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, dislodging the hard-line Taliban government following terrorist attacks on the Pentagon headquarters in Arlington and the twin towers in New York with hijacked planes on September 11 that year. One other plane that was also hijacked crashed in a field. – The Vibes, August 28, 2021
