Islamic State fighters attack police officers

KABUL — Islamic State gunmen attacked checkpoints in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing three police officers in the group’s first attack on the country’s security forces, Afghan officials said.

The spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, said an additional eight officers were wounded in the attack in the Achin district, bordering Pakistan.

Afghanistan responded to the predawn attack with a wave of air strikes that killed 85 militants, according to a statement from the Afghan intelligence agency. “All the terrorists killed were Pakistani citizens,” under the command of Hafiz Saeed, who was also killed, the National Directorate of Security statement said.

Islamic State expansion into Afghanistan has been a concern for both Afghan and international authorities for months, with officials warning that the extremist group was actively recruiting members from other Islamic militant groups.

Until now Islamic State loyalists in Afghanistan have clashed only with Taliban insurgents. The two militant groups are fighting for Islamic rule but are bitterly divided over strategy and leadership.

A statement purportedly issued by an Islamic State affiliate claimed a “big attack” in Nangarhar.

Homegrown militants loyal to the Islamic State control territory in some parts of the country and have imposed the harsh Islamic rule the group is notorious for in Iraq and Syria. The militants in Afghanistan have banned girls from school and forced young women into marriages with fighters, officials have said.