Taliban say forces destroy Islamic State cell hours after Kabul blast

Kabul: Taliban government forces destroyed an Islamic State cell in the north of Kabul late on Sunday, a spokesperson for the movement said, after a blast outside a mosque in the Afghan capital killed and wounded a number of civilians.

There was no confirmation that the operation was directly connected with Sunday's blast, which appeared to be the most serious attack in the Afghan capital since the withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of August.

The local affiliate of Islamic State, known as ISIS-Khorasan, has already claimed to have carried out attacks on Taliban targets and remains unreconciled to the movement which swept to victory over the Western-backed government in Kabul in August.