Daesh recruitment head detained in Jalalabad

A senior Islamic State leader is among 19 suspects detained in eastern Nangarhar province, local officials claimed on Monday.

Tasal Aziz, in charge of recruiting Daesh militants, was captured by intelligence agents in the second police district of Jalalabad — the provincial capital.

The arrest of Islamic State’s recruitment head for Jalalabad was announced in a statement from the governor’s house, which did not give the date of the detention.

Tasal Aziz, a resident of the Chaparhar district of the province, had confessed to his crimes, according to the statement, which gave no further information about the detainee.

Meanwhile, the Nangarhar police headquarters said 18 drug smugglers and other suspected criminals had been arrested during operations in the province in the past 24 hours.

Police spokesman Farid Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News that counter-narcotics police had seized 56 kilograms of raw hashish in a single day.

Eight people, arrested in connection with the charas seizure, had confessed to their offense, Farid Khan said. The detainees are currently under investigation.

Another 10 suspected killers and robbers had been nabbed in Jalalabad and adjoining districts, the police spokesman said.