DHAKA: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has promised to "bury" the Islamic State (IS) militant group, whose local offshoot has clashed with government forces and Taliban fighters.

In a BBC interview, Ghani said IS was "not an Afghan phenomenon" and its atrocities had "alienated the people", reports the BBC.

"Afghans are now motivated by revenge," he said. "They [IS] have confronted the wrong people."

Ghani also called for anti-IS action at regional and international level.

"There is no denial that we are dealing with very significant risks," he said, during a visit to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"A lot of my diplomacy has been to create the regional consensus, and a region with the inheritance of previous animosities and short-sighted behaviour is something that is going to require effort and focus."

The US state department said last week that it had designated the IS offshoot in Afghanistan as a terrorist organisation.

It said the group had formed in January last year and was made up of former members of the Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban.

BDST: 0846 HRS, JAN 25, 2016
RS