The Taliban rejected reports they used foreign fighters and cooperated with Islamic State in fighting at a remote village in northern Afghanistan over the weekend where officials said dozens of local police and civilians were killed.
The Taliban, fighting to install sharia in Afghanistan and drive out foreign forces, said the claims were intended to discredit it. The movement sees Islamic State, which is fighting to create a global caliphate, as a hostile force.
However, Afghan government officials quoted villagers as saying as many as 600 fighters, who appeared to include both Taliban and Islamic State militants, had overrun Mirza Olang village in the northern province of Sar-e Pul on Saturday.