Taliban Forces Kill 2 ISIS Members in Kabul Raid

Taliban members blocking roads in Kabul - File/AFP
Taliban members blocking roads in Kabul - File/AFP
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Taliban Forces Kill 2 ISIS Members in Kabul Raid

Taliban members blocking roads in Kabul - File/AFP
Taliban members blocking roads in Kabul - File/AFP

Taliban security forces killed two militants from the ISIS group and detained a third in an overnight raid in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the spokesman for the Taliban government said Monday.

The regional affiliate of the ISIS group — known as the ISIS in Khorasan Province — is a key rival of the Taliban. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority, The Associated Press said.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the main Taliban government spokesman in Kabul, the operation took place in a residential neighborhood, targeting ISIS militants who were planning to organize attacks in the Afghan capital. He said the Kher Khana neighborhood is an important ISIS hideout.

There was no immediate comment from the ISIS.

Mujahid said two ISIS members were killed and one was arrested, and ammunition and military equipment were seized in the raid. There were no casualties among the Taliban forces during the operation, he added.

In a separate operation this month, Taliban intelligence forces killed three ISIS militants and arrested one in an overnight operation in eastern part of Kabul, in Karti Naw neighborhood. The Taliban had claimed that ISIS was behind organized recent attacks in the capital.

Overnight, posts on social media reported several explosions and small-arms fire in the area of Kher Khana.

The Taliban swept across the country in mid-August 2021, seizing power as US and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their final withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
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Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.