Verifying claims of Afghan agency: NIA

An Afghanistan-based news agency said on Tuesday that 13 Indians were killed in the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) attack by the U.S. military in Achin district of Nangarhar province last week. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it was not sure of the claims and was still verifying it.

Last year, as a well thought-out conspiracy, 21 men, women and children from Kerala had left for Afghanistan via Iran to live in the IS-controlled territory. Mainly comprising defectors from Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP), the Wilayat Khorasan of Islamic State in Afghanistan came into existence in 2015.

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The NIA was investigating the case and over the past two months, at least two of them Mohammad Hafezuddin and Murshid Mohammad have been killed in drone attacks.

Quoting a credible source, the Afghanistan news agency said, “13 Indian Daesh militants were also among those killed in the attack. Daesh commanders Mohammad and Allah Gupta were from India.”

An NIA official said they were in touch with the families of the missing Indians.