The skirmish was taking place in southern Zabul province between fighters loyal to the widely-recognised Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour and followers of Mansoor Dadullah, a deputy of splinter-group leader Mohamed Rasool who announced his own faction Tuesday.
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Local officials on Sunday said 50 militants were killed and several others wounded during a clash between Taliban and Daesh fighters in the southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.
It also exposes simmering rifts within the movement since the announcement in July of the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.
The two districts are under Taliban control, and it was unclear how Farahi arrived at his figures. A Taliban commander loyal to Mansoor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said Rasool’s faction had joined forces with IS gunmen because it didn’t have the numbers otherwise.
Dadullah is considered the most influential among the Taliban dissidents, and had rejected Akhtar Mansoor as the Taliban’s new chief and had alleged that Mullah Omar had not died of natural causes but might have been killed. Lately, IS has been building up its presence in Afghanistan and recruiting disenchanted Taliban members.
Xinhua news agency quoted provincial police chief Mir Wais Noorzai as saying the militants abducted the civilians from Ghazni province last month before beheading them in Zabul’s Arghandab district Saturday night. Most were kidnapped six weeks ago, he said, though one disappeared six months ago.
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He said eight civilians, including four women who were taken hostage by Daesh members, had also been killed during the clashes. He blamed the Islamic State for the kidnappings and killings.
