Two Taliban among 3 killed in attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan

Two Taliban members and a civilian bystander were killed in an attack on a security checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, sources say.

Unidentified gunmen in a rickshaw attacked the checkpoint in Ghawchak district of Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangahar province, killing two Taliban guards and a civilian who was passing by the area, AFP reported citing a security source and eyewitnesses.

A Taliban spokesman confirmed the deadly militant attack, but said those killed were all civilians.

Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly attacks targeting Taliban forces in the city of Jalalabad in recent days.

Daesh has a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar, which is regarded as the outfit's base in the war-torn country.

Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid insisted in a press conference on Tuesday that the Takfiri terrorist group has no place in Afghanistan.

The terrorist group "that exists in Iraq and Syria does not exist here," he said, noting, however, that some of the people in Afghanistan may have adopted the group’s "mentality”.

“The people do not support [Daesh]. A phenomenon that does not have the support of the people cannot cause us trouble," Mujahid said at the news conference, which covered a range of issues. He said the group had no physical presence in Afghanistan and only operated covertly carrying out some cowardly terrorist attacks.

Mujahid added that security forces were ready "and will stop them seriously" from staging terrorist attacks and abductions in Kabul and other areas.

Meanwhile, two Taliban members were injured while trying to defuse an improvised explosive device in Jalalabad, according to AFP which cited local sources.

Further details of the incident were not immediately available.

SS