Tasnim � A senior adviser to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic draws a distinction between the Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

According to Tasnim dispatches, Seyed Rasoul Mousavi said the Taliban is an Afghan group that is �totally different to Daesh�.

Iran differentiates between the Taliban and the Daesh terror group, the Iranian adviser added.

He expressed the hope that the Afghan group would give up its past attitudes and adopt a new approach to Afghanistan�s issues.

The remarks come as Daesh has recently declared war on the Taliban, describing the Afghan militants as �hypocrites and stooges of the unbelievers�.

A Daesh commander has said that Taliban members should be killed wherever they are and their properties should be seized.

Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid recently told Tasnim that the group is resolved to target Daesh terrorists.

Speaking to Tasnim in August 2016, Mujahid had also pledged the �Islamic Emirate�s� (Taliban�s) ceaseless fight against Daesh �in cooperation with the Afghan nation�.

The �Islamic Emirate� has launched a campaign against occupation across Afghanistan, Mujahid said at the time, stressing that the Taliban is aware of the threat of Daesh and �in cooperation with the nation, has prevented the terrorist group from gaining a foothold in Afghanistan.�

The presence of Daesh forces in Afghanistan is limited to a small area in the east and they are living in a dire situation near the border, the spokesman said, adding that most of their members are non-Afghans and �have nothing to do with the Afghan people.�

No Daesh fighters are present in other areas of Afghanistan, and the Taliban will not allow such presence, he stressed.