Battle of Darzab (2018): Difference between revisions

| partof = the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]<br />[[War on Terror]]<br />[[Islamic State–Taliban conflict]]

| caption = Islamic State fighters who have surrendered to the government at the battle's end

The '''Battle of Darzab''' (12 July – 1 August 2018) was a major conflict between the [[Taliban]] and the [[Islamic State]]'s [[Islamic State – Khorasan Province|Khorasan Province]] (IS-KPISIS–K) who fought each other over control of [[Jowzjan Province]]'s [[Darzab District]] in [[Afghanistan]]. Following heavy clashes, IS-KPISIS–K was defeated, with most of the group's forces in Jowzjan Province killed or captured.

Hostilities between ISIL-KP and the Taliban intensified in early July 2018, after Islamic State fighters seized a Taliban-held village in Darzab District, and beheaded ten Taliban members they had captured there. In response, Taliban forces launched counter-attacks against ISIL-KP positions in three districts of Jowzjan, including Darzab and [[Qush Tepa District|Qush Tepa]], on 12 July.<ref name="northern"/> Fighting also spread to Faryab<ref name="takes on"/> and Sar-e Pol,<ref name="northern"/> where Islamic State militants killed Haji Shakir, the Taliban leader in [[Sancharak District|Sancharak]].<ref name="takes on"/> On 15 July, ISIL-KP captured Taliban commander Mullah Burjan in the village of Bibi Maryam, Darzab. His execution three days later<ref name="250 dead">{{cite news |url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/07/18/jawzjan-250-dead-ongoing-taliban-daesh-clashes |title=Jawzjan: 250 dead in ongoing Taliban-Daesh clashes |last=Tamkin |first=Hamid |work=[[Pajhwok Afghan News]] |date=18 July 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001202221/https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/07/18/jawzjan-250-dead-ongoing-taliban-daesh-clashes |url-status=live }}</ref> caused a further intensification of the clashes.<ref name="northern"/> By 18 July, a Taliban source claimed that fighting in Darzab District was restricted to the villages of Aqsai, Qara Yorth, Qarighach, and Tash Jawaz, while ISIL-KP had been allegedly been ousted from Kumarlik, Bibi Mariam and Aqblaq.<ref name="250 dead"/>

Following their surrender, the ISIL-KP fighters were transported with helicopters to Jowzjan Province's center [[Sheberghan]]. At Sheberghan, the Islamic State militants were treated more like guests than prisoners. This caused great resentment among civilians and soldiers alike, as the militants continued to call their guards, officials and journalists "infidels",<ref name="guests"/> and openly "boasted of engaging in acts of extreme barbarism [...], such as beheadings and the use of child soldiers", in interviews with the press. [[Nemat (militant)|Mufti Nemat]] said that he considered to join pro-government forces with his followers; he had already fought for the government once in the past.<ref name="surge"/> Locals of Darzab, however, petitioned Jowzjan's governor to punish the militants for the [[war crime]]s they had committed.<ref name="surge"/><ref name="rape"/><ref name="guests"/> Several women accused Nemat and his troops of having raped them,<ref name="rape"/> while other locals toldsaid that the Islamic State fighters had executed over one hundred100 civilians, including children, and had practised slavery in [[Darzab District|Darzab]].<ref name="guests"/> The government was consequently widely criticised for "its unexplained action of providing asylum and protection to IS-K militants", prompting officials to declare that the Islamic State fighters would be brought to justice.<ref name="rescuing"/>

[[Category:2018 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]

[[Category:Battles in 2018|Darzab]]

[[Category:Battles involving Afghanistanthe Taliban|Darzab (2018)]]

[[Category:Military operationsBattles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]