The Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) has officially confirmed its involvement in a deadly clash with the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Laghman province, adding new weight to previously unverified reports of Taliban casualties in the region.
In a statement released through its official channels, IS-KP claimed that “soldiers of the Caliphate” engaged a Taliban patrol in the Alingar district last Tuesday using machine guns, resulting in the killing of a Taliban commander and injuries to two other fighters.
This confirmation comes days after pro-Taliban accounts circulated images of a fallen Taliban fighter on social media, suggesting armed resistance from IS-KP in the remote valley. Several local sources had earlier reported the incident, but official details remained scarce until now.
The clash is part of a broader pattern of intensifying conflict between the Taliban and IS-KP, especially in eastern provinces like Laghman and Nangarhar. The Taliban has recently ramped up operations targeting suspected IS-KP members, including arrests and extrajudicial killings, further escalating tensions between the two terrorist groups.
While IS-KP’s confirmation provides clarity on the recent incident, it also underscores the persistent threat IS-KP poses to Taliban rule, and the ongoing instability plaguing Afghanistan’s eastern regions.
