Islamic State killed a senior Afghan Taliban official in Peshawar, the Afghan militants claimed on Saturday, in a rare clash between the rival Islamist groups inside Pakistan. Afghan Taliban sources told Reuters Maulvi Daud was killed on the outskirts of Peshawar with two other men on Thursday. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Daud's death.

The Islamic State on Friday claimed responsibility for "assassination of a Taliban leader" a day earlier, without naming him, through the group's affiliated news agency AMAQ. The Islamic State, which at one point controlled huge chunks of territory across Syria and Iraq, has made some inroads into Afghanistan but the group has met tough resistance from the Taliban as well as US and Afghan special forces.

Afghan Taliban sources claimed Daud was based in Afghanistan's Logar province but would frequently visit Pakistan. Islamic State does not control any territory inside Pakistan but the group has claimed responsibility for several large-scale bomb attacks. Pakistani officials say the Islamic State does not have a presence inside the country.

Copyright Reuters, 2017