At Least Five Killed In Attacks Targeting Taliban In Eastern Afghanistan

Members of the Taliban inspect the site of a blast in Jalalabad on September 18.

Reports from eastern Afghanistan say attackers struck Taliban vehicles, killing several fighters and civilians in the latest violent incident since the group's takeover of the country last month.

In one attack, gunmen opened fire on a Taliban vehicle in the capital of Nangarhar Province, Jalalabad, killing two fighters and at least one civilian, witnesses said on September 22.

The Taliban claimed that those killed were all civilians.

One source told RFE/RL that the attackers were traveling in a rickshaw and managed to flee the scene after the shooting.

About an hour later, Jalalabad was the scene of a roadside bomb blast in which a Taliban militant and a civilian were wounded, according to eyewitnesses.

At least one person was wounded in another blast in the city, although it was unclear if that person was a militant or a civilian.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attacks, although the Islamic State extremist group's local branch, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), took responsibility for similar attacks in Jalalabad last week in which eight people were reported killed.

Nangarhar is the heartland of IS-K, which is an enemy of Afghanistan’s new rulers.

The two militant groups fought each other even before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in mid-August as U.S.-led international forces withdrew from the country.

This includes reporting by Radio Azadi correspondents on the ground in Afghanistan. Their names are being withheld for their protection.

With reporting by AP and dpa