Fighters of the radical Islamic Taliban say they have killed a high-ranking commander of the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). The regional "intelligence chief" of the IS, Kari Fateh, was killed during an operation on Sunday evening, said the spokesman for the Taliban government, Sabihullah Mujahid, on Monday. According to the spokesman, Fateh was the "direct mastermind" for attacks on diplomatic missions, mosques and other facilities in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Another IS member was killed during the operation against the cell in the Khair Khana district of Kabul, the Taliban said in a statement. Residents of the neighborhood had reported shots on Sunday evening. Taliban officials posted pictures of two dead lying among the rubble on Twitter.

A July 2022 UN Security Council report described Fateh as one of the key IS leaders. He was tasked with "military operations" in an area that stretches across India, Iran and Central Asia.

Since the withdrawal of the US army and the takeover of power by the Taliban in August, IS has regularly carried out attacks in Afghanistan. In December, the militia claimed responsibility for a raid on a hotel in Kabul that injured five Chinese nationals. In January, the militia claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near the Foreign Ministry in Kabul that left at least ten dead.

The Taliban also accuse IS of being responsible for a suicide attack on an education center in September 2022 that killed 54 people, including 51 women and girls.