Afghan authorities have said they have foiled a plan by the extremist group ISIS to assassinate the top US envoy in Kabul.
According to the National Directorate of Security, intelligence officials dismantled an ISIS cell in the eastern province of Nangarhar that had planned to assassinate Ross Wilson and Afghan officials. They arrested all four members of the group, it said.
Wilson, the US Charge d’Affaires in Kabul, has condemned a series of assassinations of prominent Afghans, including journalists, activists and politicians, in recent months.
The NDS did not offer further details.
Afghanistan has been rocked by violence in recent months, including a new wave of targeted killing of prominent Afghans.
Last week, the US military claimed that the terror group was responsible for these targeted killings, although some of them have been claimed by the ISIS.
Over the years, ISIS has claimed several deadly attacks in Nangarhar, once the stronghold of the extremist group in the country.
The surge in violence hampers peace process as the government and Taliban have been holding negotiations in Qatar capital Doha.
