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[[File:Jowzjan districts.png|thumb|left|Map of [[Jozjan Province]] with [[Darzab District]] in light yellow ]]
Despite both being opposed to the [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]] and its [[Resolute Support Mission|Western allies]], the [[Taliban]] and the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] are fierce rivals who have fought each other since 2015.<ref name="surge">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-isis.html |title=Taliban Surge Routs ISIS in Northern Afghanistan |author1=Najim Rahim |author2=Rod Nordland |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 August 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814003419/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-isis.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="surrender">{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/is-fighters-surrender-to-afghan-forces-after-taliban-assault/4508748.html |title=IS Fighters Surrender to Afghan Forces After Taliban Assault |author=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[Voice of America]] |date=1 August 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610052513/https://www.voanews.com/a/is-fighters-surrender-to-afghan-forces-after-taliban-assault/4508748.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Islamic State's Afghan branch, namely the so-called "[[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|Khorasan Province]]" (often abbreviated ISIL-K), has extensively recruited disaffected ex-Taliban,<ref name="defeated">{{cite web |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/taliban-says-islamic-state-is-completely-defeated-in-jawzjan.php |title=Taliban says Islamic State has been 'completely defeated' in Jawzjan |author=Bill Roggio |work=[[Long War Journal]] |date=1 August 2018 |access-date=9 August 2018 |archive-date=13 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813043310/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/taliban-says-islamic-state-is-completely-defeated-in-jawzjan.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and its mere presence threatens the Taliban's claim to be "the only legitimate opposition" in Afghanistan.<ref name="northern">{{cite web |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/07/taliban-islamic-state-continue-battle-in-northern-afghanistan.php |title=Taliban, Islamic State continue battle in northern Afghanistan |author1=Bill Roggio |author2=Caleb Weiss |work=[[Long War Journal]] |date=18 July 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814002111/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/07/taliban-islamic-state-continue-battle-in-northern-afghanistan.php |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the [[Theater (warfare)|theaters]] where the two insurgent groups have repeatedly clashed is the country's north, most importantly the provinces of [[Jowzjan Province|Jowzjan]], [[Sar-e Pol Province|Sar-e Pol]], and [[Faryab Province|Faryab]].<ref name="defeated"/><ref name="northern"/>
The forces of ISIL-K in northern Afghanistan consist of local Taliban defectors,<ref name="defeated"/> and an extensive number of foreign [[mujahideen]] including [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]] militants. The power of ISIL-K in the north was further boosted by the defection of [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] Taliban commander [[Qari Hekmat]] and his followers.<ref name="northern"/> Hekmat became the leading commander of the Islamic State in northern Afghanistan, and used his large foreign network to recruit fighters from [[Central Asia]] and to smuggle them into Jowzjan, which had been a "major hub" for various insurgent groups even before the [[Taliban insurgency]]'s beginning.<ref name="Hekmat">{{cite web |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/04/us-military-kills-senior-islamic-state-commander-in-afghan-north.php |title=US military kills senior Islamic State commander in Afghan north |author=Bill Roggio |work=[[Long War Journal]] |date=9 April 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814002005/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/04/us-military-kills-senior-islamic-state-commander-in-afghan-north.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In course of 2017, the Islamic State [[Battle of Darzab (2017)|captured most]] of [[Darzab District]] in Jowzjan, and transformed it into its local stronghold. The Taliban subsequently launched at least three major offensives to oust ISIL-K from Darzab, but all failed.<ref name="takes on">{{cite web |url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-taliban-takes-on-islamic-state-insurgents-vie-for-control-of-northern-afghanistan/ |title=The Taliban Takes on Islamic State: Insurgents Vie for Control of Northern Afghanistan |author=Waliullah Rahmani |work=[[Jamestown Foundation]] |date=10 August 2018 |access-date=15 August 2018 |archive-date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815131601/https://jamestown.org/program/the-taliban-takes-on-islamic-state-insurgents-vie-for-control-of-northern-afghanistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, however, the US military and the Afghan government increasingly targeted Hekmat's network. Hekmat himself was killed in a US airstrike in April 2018, weakening ISIL-K in the north. Hekmat was succeeded by Mawlavi Habibul Rahman,<ref name="Hekmat"/> while Mawlavi's brother-in-law [[Mufti Nemat]]<ref name="surge"/> became second-in-command for Jowzjan Province.<ref name="rape">{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/is-commander-accused-of-rape-surrenders-to-authoritie/4516044.html |title=Islamic State Commander Accused of Rape Surrenders |author=Mohammad Habibzada |work=[[Voice of America]] |date=6 August 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814001829/https://www.voanews.com/a/is-commander-accused-of-rape-surrenders-to-authoritie/4516044.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite Hekmat's death, several foreign fighters recruited by him remained in Darzab, including Uzbeks, [[Tajiks]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]], [[Indonesians]], [[Chechens]], [[Pakistanis]], [[Turkey|Turks]], and [[French people|French]].<ref name="takes on"/><ref name="foreign">{{cite web |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/foreign-islamic-state-fighters-captured-by-taliban-in-jawzjan.php |title=Foreign Islamic State fighters captured by Taliban in Jawzjan |author=Caleb Weiss |work=[[Long War Journal]] |date=4 August 2018 |access-date=9 August 2018 |archive-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804113629/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/foreign-islamic-state-fighters-captured-by-taliban-in-jawzjan.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
== The battle ==
Hostilities between ISIL-K 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-K 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]].<ref name="takes on"/> On 15 July, ISIL-K captured Taliban commander Mullah Burjan in the village of Bibi Maryam, Darzab. His execution three days later<ref name="250 dead">{{cite web |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 |author=Hamid Tamkin |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-K had been allegedly been ousted from Kumarlik, Bibi Mariam and Aqblaq.<ref name="250 dead"/>
[[File:Mufti Nematullah.png|thumb|left|[[Mufti Nemat]], second-in-command of [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|ISIL-K]] for [[Jowzjan Province]] ]]
Sometime in mid-July, the Taliban launched a major offensive to fully evict ISIL-K from Jowzjan Province.<ref name="defeated"/> Islamic State commander Mawlavi Habibul Rahman later claimed that the Taliban had amassed 2,000 fighters in Jowzjan from various areas, including [[Helmand Province]], for this operation.<ref name="surge"/> Employing their elite/special forces, the [[Red Group]],<ref name="defeated"/> the Taliban attacked the Islamic State's stronghold<ref name="surge"/> of Darzab from three sides simultaneously.<ref name="defeated"/> By this time, Darzab was held by about 600 to 700 ISIL-K fighters according to estimates of the Afghan government.<ref name="leaves">{{cite web |url=http://www.gulf-times.com/story/600035/IS-Taliban-infighting-leaves-over-120-dead-in-nort |title=IS, Taliban infighting leaves over 120 dead in northern Afghanistan |work=[[Gulf Times]] |date=19 July 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812191816/http://www.gulf-times.com/story/600035/IS-Taliban-infighting-leaves-over-120-dead-in-nort |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 July, the Taliban overran ISIL-K at the villages of Mughal and Sardara, Darzab, where they killed Haji Murad (also known as Haji Qumandan), the Islamic State's deputy commander for Jowzjan.<ref name="senior">{{cite web |url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/07/23/jawzjan-senior-daesh-leader-killed-taliban-attack |title=Jawzjan: Senior Daesh leader killed in Taliban attack |author=Hamid Tamkin |work=[[Pajhwok Afghan News]] |date=23 July 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814035926/https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/07/23/jawzjan-senior-daesh-leader-killed-taliban-attack |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="takes on"/> In course of heavy combat, the Taliban reportedly inflicted hundreds of casualties on ISIL-K,{{efn|name=losses}} and captured much war [[materiel]].<ref name="defeated"/> By 20 July, 3,500 to 7,000 civilians had been displaced by the fighting.<ref name="flee">{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-islamic-state/families-flee-as-taliban-battle-islamic-state-in-northern-afghanistan-idUSKBN1KA231 |title=Families flee as Taliban battle Islamic State in northern Afghanistan |author=Matin Sahak |work=[[Reuters]] |date=20 July 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814001903/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-islamic-state/families-flee-as-taliban-battle-islamic-state-in-northern-afghanistan-idUSKBN1KA231 |url-status=live }}</ref>
By 30 July, ISIL-K was reduced to just two villages in Darzab, whereupon its leaders Mawlavi Habibul Rahman and Mufti Nemat decided to contact the Afghan government;<ref name="surge"/> they subsequently agreed to surrender in exchange for protection from the Taliban.<ref name="surge"/><ref name="defeated"/><ref name="rescuing">{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-government-under-fire-for-rescuing-islamic-state-militants/4515574.html |title=Afghan Government Under Fire for Rescuing Islamic State Militants |author=Ayaz Gul |work=[[Voice of America]] |date=6 August 2018 |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814041346/https://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-government-under-fire-for-rescuing-islamic-state-militants/4515574.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Afghan Air Force]] then started to bombard Taliban positions to prevent them from capturing the remaining Islamic State forces and to ensure their surrender.<ref name="surge"/> Nemat later claimed that the [[Afghan National Army]] had also agreed to evacuate them with helicopters, though this came not to pass; instead, the Islamic State fighters had to reach government-held territories on foot.<ref name="surge"/> About 245 fighters,<ref name="rape"/> alongside their families, subsequently surrendered on 1 August, though some Islamic State fighters had disappeared during the retreat. Nemat later speculated that these militants had possibly defected to the Taliban.<ref name="surge"/> Among those who laid down arms were, besides Mawlavi and Nemat,<ref name="defeated"/><ref name="surrender"/> another commander known as "Sibghatullah",<ref name="defeated"/> about 100 [[Children in the military|child soldiers]],<ref name="guests">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/world/asia/islamic-state-prisoners-afghanistan.html |title=Are ISIS Fighters Prisoners or Honored Guests of the Afghan Government? |author1=Najim Rahim |author2=Rod Nordland |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=4 August 2018 |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819042230/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/world/asia/islamic-state-prisoners-afghanistan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and 25 to 30 foreign mujahideen.<ref name="surge"/>
== Aftermath ==
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U.S. Department of Defense, in its 2018 quarterly report on Afghanistan, claimed the Taliban’s victory against the [[Daesh|ISIL-K]] in Jawzjan as its own. Early on U.S. and Afghan government tried to label surrender of ISIL-K fighter to Afghan military as one of the 'successful operation' conducted by the Afghan military. Although the ISIL-K surrendered as a result of defeat at the hands of [[Talibans]].
[[Long War Journal]] claims that this attempts by U.S. military highlights just how desperate [[U.S. military]] is to report success in Afghanistan, and how infrequent those successes are in reality.<ref name="Long War Journal1">{{cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/11/us-military-continues-to-spin-a-taliban-victory-against-islamic-state-as-its-own.php|title=US military continues to spin a Taliban victory against Islamic State as its own|access-date=2 November 2018|publisher=[[Long War Journal]]|archive-date=3 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103114900/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/11/us-military-continues-to-spin-a-taliban-victory-against-islamic-state-as-its-own.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Fall of Chinese Camp===
Chinese camp was an Afghan army base which fell to Taliban control around the time when [[Ghazni offensive]] was going on. Afghan army soldiers deployed at Chinese camp, heavily criticised the [[Afghan army|army]] and the [[Afghan government|government]] for abandoning them. They claimed that the [[Afghan military]] prioritised ferrying [[Daesh|ISIL-K]] prisoners in [[helicopters]] over using those helicopters to re-supply the camp. The soldiers asked whether those [[Daesh|ISIL-K]] militants were prisoners or honoured guest for the government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/world/asia/the-afghan-armys-last-stand-at-chinese-camp.html|title=The Afghan Army's Last Stand at Chinese Camp|access-date=14 August 2018|work=New York Times|archive-date=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814213446/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/world/asia/the-afghan-armys-last-stand-at-chinese-camp.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/afghan-military-prioritizes-isis-captives-over-base-that-fell-taliban-2018-8|title=The Afghan military airlifted ISIS captives out rather than re-supply a besieged base — and the Taliban overran it|access-date=15 August 2018|publisher=Business Insider|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815223818/https://www.businessinsider.com/afghan-military-prioritizes-isis-captives-over-base-that-fell-taliban-2018-8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Long War Journal1"/>
== Notes ==
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