KABUL (Pajhwok): Local residents and security officials said Taliban militants stormed a village in Chaparhar district of eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, apprehending a number of civilians.
Local residents said militants conducted raids on homes in search of Islamic State (IS) members.
An Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander Janat Gul told Pajhwok Afghan News around 300 rebels attacked Dagi village on Tuesday morning.
“Taliban think IS members are hidden in this area, but there IS members do not exist here,” he said.
He said the Taliban militants who captured the civilians had arrived from different areas.
Provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashraqiwal said the two rival groups had been attacking each other but he rejected if they had attacked civilians.
However, he said claims about people’s harassment would be investigated.
A resident of Dago village, Pacha, said militants arrived in their village and asked people through loudspeakers to swear allegiance to them.
“People do not go out of homes and we can hear gunshots fired in parts of village,” he said, but did not who were engaged in the crossfire.
Another resident of the area, Abdur Rahman, said Taliban believed IS members were hiding in the area.
When asked about fighting in the village, he said, “People must defend themselves when rebels attack their houses.”
The governor’s spokesman, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, said a clash between the rival groups was underway in Mano village of the district. But he had no information about fighting in Dago area.
