Gunmen kill 2 Taliban, 2 civilians in eastern Afghan city

Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said.

Jalalabad (Afghanistan): Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said.

Two other civilians were wounded in the attack, said Mohammad Hanif, a cultural official for the city's surrounding province, Nangarhar.

No one claimed responsibility for the shooting, but the Islamic State group, which has a strong presence in Nangarhar and considers the Taliban an enemy, has previously claimed several attacks against them, including several killings in Jalalabad.

The two civilians killed were Sayed Maroof Sadat, a former spokesman for the Nangarhar department of agriculture, and his cousin, Sharif Sadat told the AP. Sadat’s son was among the two wounded, he added.

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August, attacks by IS militants against them have increased. The rise has raised the specter of a wider conflict between the two extremist groups.

On Friday, Taliban fighters raided a hideout of the Islamic State group north of Kabul, killing and arresting an unspecified number of militants, a Taliban spokesman said. IS activity in Nangarhar province has also led to Taliban crackdowns there.

AP