‘Rare Cooperation’: Islamic State, Taliban Execute Joint Attack in Afghanistan

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and the Taliban, an al-Qaeda ally, stand accused again of joining forces to carry out a deadly terrorist attack in Afghanistan that left up to 50 mostly Shiite civilians dead and hundreds of others in captivity last week. Agence France-Presse (AFP) notes that the incident highlights “rare cooperation” between the two groups, which have been engaged in various turf battles since ISIS established a presence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region back in January 2015. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reports: Taliban and IS [Islamic State] fighters working together in a rare joint operation killed around 50 men, women, and children in the mainly Shi’ite village on August 5 after overrunning a government-backed militia in a two-day battle, according to local officials, who also said they took about 150 families captive. The Taliban denies it was a joint operation, saying a group under one of its commanders carried out the attack. Nevertheless, RFE/RL learned that local villagers reported seeing jihadists flaunting the white banner of the Taliban and the black banner of ISIS during the attack, which took place in a remote village in northern Afghanistan’s Sar-e Pul Province. The Pentagon believes many of the ISIS fighters in Afghanistan