Islamic State militants 'abduct and kill 30' in Afghanistan

The killings occurred late Tuesday north of Firoz Koh, the capital of Ghor province, with the local government calling it a revenge attack after a local IS commander was killed.

"Our security forces with the help of locals conducted an operation and killed a Daesh (IS) commander yesterday. Daesh fighters in return abducted around 30 villagers, mostly shepherds," Ghor Governor Nasir Khazeh told AFP.

"Their dead bodies were found by local people this morning."

The IS group has so far not officially claimed responsibility for the attack.

Abdul Hameed Nateqi, a Ghor provincial council member, gave a similar account to AFP, adding that the assailants were self-proclaimed supporters of IS.

The killings underscore Afghanistan's unravelling security situation, as a resurgent Taliban continues to push into urban centres 15 years after they were toppled from power.

At the same time, IS fighters have been trying to expand their presence in Afghanistan, winning over sympathisers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country's east.

In March Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that the Islamists had been defeated after local security forces claimed victory in a months-long operation against the group.

This latest attack in Ghor represents a major escalation for IS, which so far has largely been confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar where it is notorious for brutality including beheadings.

The Afghan government is currently engaged in operations backed by NATO airstrikes against IS in the province.

NATO recently said the group's influence was waning as it steadily lost territory, with fighters largely confined to two or three districts in Nangarhar from around nine in January.

"Right now we see them (IS) very focused on trying to establish their caliphate... inside Afghanistan," John Nicholson, the top US and NATO commander in the country, told reporters on Sunday.

"Of course with our Afghan partners we have been able to reduce that territory significantly and inflict heavy casualties on them."

In July, IS militants claimed responsibility for twin explosions that ripped through crowds of Shia Hazaras in Kabul, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400 others.

The bombings marked the deadliest single attack in Kabul since the Taliban were ousted from power in a 2001 US-led invasion. The killings sparked an avalanche of global condemnation, with the United Nations labelling the direct assault on civilians a "war crime".