Afghan president: IS being wiped out in Afghanistan

The terrorist organisation has had a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year and still the relatively new force in the country has challenged the Afghan Taliban movement in pockets of the country.

Mr. Karzai's comments came as there was uncertainty in Islamabad over just when the next round of QCG talks that include representatives from the U.S., China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, would be scheduled. However, on Saturday Taliban leaders said they would not participate in peace talks with Afghanistan's government until foreign forces stop attacking their installations and leave the country.

Mujahid said the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, had not given any order to take part in talks and that the "leadership council of the Islamic Emirate" had not discussed the matter.

Before this, the U.S. President Barack Obama, during a video conference call with Ghani on Friday, welcomed Ghani's recent efforts for direct talks with Taliban - which is expected to be held in mid-March. Hoping to achieve some immediate reduction in violence, Mr Ghani's government wants to engage with commanders in the field, as well as political leaders overseas who have direct influence over the level of fighting.

The Taliban have meanwhile accused the United States of boosting troop numbers and carrying out airstrikes and night raids on residential compounds.

The Taliban, toppled from power in a US-led military intervention in 2001, has waged an armed campaign to overthrow the Afghan government and re-establish its rule.

IS and Taliban are involved in hostilities not only with government troops but also with each other. The militants said they had no intention of joining talks as long as the country was under what they described as foreign occupation. Which is what forces us to accept a condition we are unhappy with (on the venue for talks in Pakistan). "All four countries are making efforts to bring the Taliban groups to the negotiation table", he said.

The Taliban's inflexibility on dialogue can cause problems for Pakistan.

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