US forces have carried out two drone strikes targeting militants in part of Afghanistan where the Taliban have clashed with purported supporters of the self-styled Islamic State group, officials said Tuesday.
The Islamic State (IS) group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan but fears are growing that it is making inroads in the country.
The strikes on Monday took place in restive Achin district of Nangarhar province, on the border with Pakistan, where local media have reported battles between Taliban insurgents and IS supporters in recent weeks.
A spokeswoman for the NATO mission in Afghanistan confirmed US forces carried out two “precision strikes… against individuals threatening the force” but did not give details of who was targeted.
Provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told AFP the strikes killed a total of 49 members of a “new group”.
A spokesman for the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan spy agency, claimed the IS group’s “number two” commander in Afghanistan was killed in an air strike in Achin, though he did not specify whether it was a drone strike.
However IS has not announced its presence or identified its commanders in Afghanistan and there was no confirmation of the NDS’s claim.