Taliban denounces ‘brutal’ IS execution video

The Taliban group has condemned a “horrific” video that appears to show fighters from the Islamic State group blowing up bound and blindfolded Afghan prisoners with explosives. The video spotlights the growing rivalry between the two groups as IS makes inroads into Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their home turf. The video, apparently shot in […]

The Taliban group has condemned a “horrific” video that appears to show fighters from the Islamic State group blowing up bound and blindfolded Afghan prisoners with explosives.
The video spotlights the growing rivalry between the two groups as IS makes inroads into Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their home turf.
The video, apparently shot in Afghanistan’s restive east against the backdrop of hilly grasslands enveloped with fog, describes the prisoners as “apostates” aligned with the Taliban or the Afghan government.
But the Taliban described them as civilians.
“A horrific video… (shows) kidnappers who associate themselves with Daesh brutally martyring several white-bearded tribal elders and villagers with explosives,” the Taliban said in a statement Tuesday.
“This offense and other such brutal actions by a few irresponsible ignorant individuals under the guise of Islam and Muslims are intolerable.”
The Taliban are themselves often accused of brutality during their 14-year insurgency against the US-backed Afghan government that has sent civilian casualties soaring.