There are no terrorist groups present in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference Abdul Nafi Takoor said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not “allow them to have presence. We will never allow anyone to pose a threat from Afghanistan to other countries.”

On Monday, a quarterly report on Afghanistan issued by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted growing security concerns in Afghanistan, saying foreign terrorist groups continue to have a presence in the country.

“The security situation reveals a worrisome trend in recent months, particularly the series of attacks by ISIL-K, recurring armed opposition clashes with Taliban (IEA) de facto security forces and the continuing presence of foreign terrorist groups in Afghanistan,” the report said.

The report also said that the announcement by the US of the death of the leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Kabul “brought to the fore the continuing ties between the terrorist group and the Taliban (IEA), which would be contrary to the latter’s counter-terrorism commitments.”

The report highlighted that the overall number of conflict-related security incidents and civilian casualties decreased significantly between 22 May and 16 August compared with the same period in 2021.

The United Nations recorded 1,642 security-related incidents, a 77.5 per cent decrease from the 7,314 incidents recorded during the same period in 2021

Armed clashes decreased by 97 per cent, from 4,620 to 129 incidents; air strikes fell by 99.5 per cent, from 564 to 3; detonations from improvised explosive devices decreased by 87 per cent, from 590 to 76; and assassinations decreased by 70 per cent, from 294 to 88, according to the report.

As a result of the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation, crime-related security incidents remained consistently high, with 373 such incidents reported between 22 May and 16 August, compared with 300 reported during the same period in 2021, the report said.

Attacks claimed or attributed to ISIL-K decreased. Between 22 May and 16 August, the United Nations recorded 48 attacks by the group in 11 provinces, compared with 113 attacks in 8 provinces during the same period in 2021.