A Taliban district commander in the city confirmed the blast and said four Taliban fighters were wounded. The commander, who identified himself as Mubariz—and goes by a name like many Afghans—did not give details about those killed in the attack, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Two people were killed and three others were injured in a roadside bombing Wednesday on a Taliban patrol in an Islamic State stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack was a hallmark of IS’s previous attacks against the Taliban. The two groups have been bitter rivals and IS has intensified attacks since the Taliban captured Afghanistan in August.
A bomb blast took place on Wednesday in Jalalabad city, the capital of Nangarhar province.
A Taliban district commander in the city confirmed the blast and said four Taliban fighters were wounded. The commander, who identified himself as Mubariz—and goes by a name like many Afghans—did not give details about those killed in the attack, saying the investigation was ongoing.
In recent weeks, Taliban officials have been reluctant or slow to release details about Taliban deaths, in an apparent attempt to downplay the extent of damage being inflicted by IS.
The Jalalabad attack came a day after IS attackers detonated the gate of a 400-bed military hospital in the capital of Kabul, killing three women, a child and three Taliban guards. Five attackers were also killed in the attack.
Taliban officials said guards prevented the attackers from entering the hospital.
IS claimed that one of those killed in the hospital attack was a senior Taliban commander who played a key role in the group’s takeover of Kabul on August 15. Taliban officials said they could not immediately confirm the commander’s death.
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