Afghan forces raided the hideouts of the Islamic State (IS) outfit in Balkh, killing several insurgents, said a statement of counter-intelligence agency.

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)_Monitoring, Personnel of the General Directorate of Intelligence attacked the hideouts of the IS group in Police Districts 5, 8 and 10 in Mazar-i-Sharif city, killing several insurgents, the statement added.

The statement also noted that several IS militants who were involved in organizing terror attacks in Kabul, Faryab and Balkh provinces and killing the Balkh governor weeks ago have been arrested.

This is the fourth operation launched by Afghan forces against IS hideouts in the national capital Kabul and northern Mazar-i-Sharif city over the past weeks, killing several IS-affiliated insurgents. The rival armed group has yet to comment.

Afghan caretaker administration has downplayed the rival IS outfit as a security threat, vowing to crash the armed opponents elsewhere in the war-torn country.