Islamic State violence dents Taliban claims of safer Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: A member of Taliban security forces stands guard among crowds of people walking past in a street in Kabul, Afghanistan September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Last month, the family of Mawlavi Ezzatullah, a member of Afghanistan's Hizb-e Islami party, received a WhatsApp message from his phone: "We have slaughtered your Mawlavi Ezzat, come and collect his body."

Ezzatullah's killing, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, was one of a steady stream of assassinations and bombings that have undermined Taliban claims that they have brought greater security to Afghanistan after 40 years of war.