At least four killed as Taliban crack down on ISIS hideouts in southern Afghanistan

There has also been a blast in a western suburb of Kabul

Taliban members stand guard in front of the rubble of a suspected ISIS hideout, during an operation against ISIS-Khorasan. Photo: AFP

At least four people were killed as the Taliban carried out an operation on suspected ISIS hideouts in southern Afghanistan, following a recent increase in attacks by the group.

The crackdown on ISIS-Khorasan, the local arm of the extremist group, began around midnight in at least four districts of Kandahar province and continued through Monday morning, AFP cited the Taliban provincial police chief Abdul Ghafar Mohammadi as saying.

"So far, four Daesh fighters have been killed and ten arrested," he said. "One of them blew himself up inside a house."

A member of the Taliban intelligence agency who declined to be named told AFP at least three civilians were killed in the operation.

Local media quoted a Taliban official as saying there had also been a blast in a western suburb of Kabul on Monday morning.

In the three months since the Taliban came to power, ISIS-K has been active in Jalalabad, Kunduz, Kandahar and Kabul.

Last month the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a Shiite mosque in Kandahar that killed at least 60 people and injured scores more.

That attack came a week after another deadly mosque blast claimed by ISIS-K in northern Kunduz province killed more than 60 people.

The group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a bomb that destroyed a minibus in Kabul at the weekend killing a well-known local journalist and up to two others.

ISIS-K claimed it had killed or injured "20 Shiite apostates" in the incident.

Earlier this month, ISIS-K fighters raided the city's National Military Hospital, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 50 others.

The group has also claimed several attacks in the city of Jalalabad, which is the capital of eastern Nangarhar province and a hotbed of ISIS-K activity.