Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said that the group’s forces conducted an operation to target ISIS hideouts in the district 5, 6 and 8 of Mazar-e-Sharif city on Friday night.

According to Mujahid, several ISIS members have been killed during the operation.

Mujahid added that a Taliban member has been wounded.

The exact number of casualties during the operation has not been revealed yet.

Earlier on Friday night, local sources in Mazar-e-Sharif city had reported that heavy gun fight was underway in Dasht-e-Shor area of the city.

The Taliban’s operations in civilian areas have been controversial in the past.

A week ago, the group announced killing seven young men on charges of rebellion and kidnapping in Mazar-e-Sharif city and displayed their bodies to the public. However, the families of these dead men said that they were innocent and were workers who had visited Mazar-e-Sharif for employment purposes.

These families staged a protest in front of the United Nations offices in Kabul to seek justice for their dead men by the Taliban, but the group prevented the protest.