Official: IS, Taliban battle in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says an intense gun battle has erupted between Taliban and Islamic State affiliate insurgents in eastern Nangarhar province.

Attahullah Khogyani, provincial governor's spokesman, said Tuesday that hundreds of families are displaced from villages in Khogyani and Sherzad districts.

Khogyani said an operation involving air and ground forces was begun to eliminate both insurgent groups from the area.

Six civilians were wounded and there are reports of dozens of casualties among the insurgents, he said.

Sherzad, Khogyani and Hasarak districts in Nangarhar are strategic because they link with neighboring Logar province as well as the capital Kabul.

In April, the U.S. military used the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved in the mountains in Nangarhar province.