KABUL: The surrender of nearly 200 Daesh affiliates following deadly infighting with Taliban insurgents in the northern region of Afghanistan, marks the end of the network’s threat in the area, government officials said on Thursday.
The fate of the combatants who surrendered in Darzab district of Jowzjan on Wednesday will be decided by the government in future, they said.
Thirty women and two of Daesh’s top leaders in northern Afghanistan, along with a group of foreign militants from Central Asia, were among those who surrendered, they added.
He was unable to confirm that European or Arab fighters were among those who surrendered.
“This is basically the end of Daesh in the north. This will hopefully provide assurance to Central Asia and Russia who expressed fear about the presence of Daesh in northern Afghanistan,” Mohammad Reza Ghafoori, spokesman for Jowzjan’s governor told Arab News.
He said most of Daesh’s combatants, including their two leaders, were former Taliban members.
The surrender comes after days of deadly clashes between Taliban fighters and Daesh in Darzab, a strategic area where both sides vied for power.
They were exhausted so had no option but to surrender, General Mohammad Radmanesh, a spokesman for the defense ministry told Arab News.
“This group will no longer have the ability to create fear and threat in the area,” he said.
The spokesman for Afghanistan’s commando forces, Maj. Ahmad Jawid Salim, said that the move marked the end of Daesh in northern Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, said after the attack on Daesh, they took scores of their rivals prisoner, with the rest fleeing to government side.
He said the Taliban leadership will decide their fate.
