Islamic State (IS) militants are seen at a surrender ceremony in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Dec. 5, 2019. A fresh batch of IS militants surrendered in Jalalabad city on Thursday, a provincial governor said. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- A fresh batch of Islamic State (IS) militants surrendered in Jalalabad city, capital of eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday, a provincial governor said.
"A total of 180 members of IS or Daesh terrorist group renounced violence and surrendered to Nangarhar's National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Jalalabad city at midday on Thursday," governor Shah Mohammad Miyakhil told reporters.
The surrendered militants who were active in Achin district handed over 94 rounds of AK-47 and heavy machine guns to the country's national intelligence agency NDS.
Militants affiliated to the hardliner IS outfit emerged in Achin and in the neighboring Nazyan and Khogyani districts in early 2015 and have been challenging the security forces in the relatively violent Nangarhar province since then.
Government security forces launched a massive crackdown against the IS in Achin early last month, forcing more than 1,000 IS militants and their family members to surrender to security forces.
The IS outfit has yet to make a comment.
