(Reuters) -Several people were killed and others injured in an attack by unknown armed individuals in Afghanistan on Thursday, the country’s Interior Ministry spokesman said, the first attack on civilians in Daykundi province since the Taliban took power.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on Thursday on its Telegram channel. It did not immediately provide any evidence for its assertion.
Most of the residents of Daykundi province are Shia Muslims, and it was considered one of the safest provinces.
Islamic State-Khurasan, a local affiliate of the Middle East-based Islamic State, has waged an insurgency against the Taliban, who they see as their enemies.
Taliban authorities say they have mostly crushed the group, even as it continues to carry out attacks in Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Nilutpal Timsina; writing by Yomna Ehab; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama)
