Abdul Samad, deputy garrison commander, told Pajhwok Afghan News they had been tipped off about the militants intending to travel to eastern Nangarhar province from Darzab district.

He told the news agency that the four terrorists were arrested at a checkpoint in Shiberghan by the garrison personnel.  

He said they were attempting to travel to Nangarhar to provide equipment and financial assistance to the group.  

They are said to be loyal to IS leader Qari Hikmat of Jawzjan area.

Two Islamic State militants, who were suspected to be involved in planning attacks on Imam Zaman mosque and some other areas of Afghanistan capital Kabul city,  were arrested recently.

The arrest was confirmed by National Directorate of Security (NDS) of Afghanistan.

An NDS official, who wished to go unnamed, was quoted as saying by Pajhwok Afghan News in Kabul that two Daesh (ISIS) terrorists in Kabul- one identified as Ehsanullah and the other as the group’s recruitment in charge for the capital, Mohammad Omar- were arrested in Kabul last month.

These two men also brought two other men named Abu Zubari Khurasani and Abu Jandullah Uzbaki from Nangarhar province to Kabul, who carried out attack on Imam Zaman Mosque, source told the news agency

The source said both the detained terrorists were responsible for planning all Daesh attacks in the capital city.

Kabul and rest of the nation have witnessed several terrorist attacks in recent times.

More than 10,000 civilians have lost their lives or suffered injuries during 2017, according to the latest report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documenting the impact of the armed conflict on civilians in Afghanistan.

“The human cost of this ugly war in Afghanistan – loss of life, destruction and immense suffering – is far too high” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, during the launch of the latest annual report in Kabul.

The report detailed that in 2017, UNAMA and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 10,453 civilian casualties – 3,438 killed and 7,015 injured.

The findings show that the majority of civilian casualties resulted from suicide attacks, improvised explosive device, ground engagements, targeted killings, explosive remnants of war and air strikes.