In Afghanistan, Islamic State fighters attacked the house of a Taliban commander in the northern Afghan province of Sar-e Pul yesterday, killing at least 15 people as they were attending a prayer ceremony.

Spokesman for the Sar-e-Pul governor’s office, Zabihullah Amani said, the IS fighters entered a Taliban commander’s house where a ceremony was underway and opened fire. He said 15 Taliban were killed and another five wounded.

Northern Afghanistan has become one of the main areas of Islamic State activity in the country as the movement has spread beyond its original base in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

Yesterday’s attack follows reports of fighting between Islamic State and Taliban militants in other northern provinces over recent days.