Fighters from a militant Islamic group in Afghanistan, allied to the Taliban, have said they were considering joining forces with Islamic State (IS), reported BBC.
Their commander also said they would still fight the Afghan government, even after Nato forces left in 2014.
Commander Mirwais told the BBC that if IS, which he called by its Arabic acronym Daish, proved a true Islamic caliphate, they would link up with it.
Across Afghanistan, there are currently 14 different front lines where the Taliban are fighting government forces
Commander Mirwais said: "We know Daish and we have links with some Daish members. We are waiting to see if they meet the requirements for an Islamic caliphate."
"If we find they do, we are sure that our leadership will announce their allegiance to them. They are great mujahideen. We pray for them, and if we don't see a problem in the way they operate, we will join them."
He further said:"Our struggle was mainly against the Americans, and thank God they were forced to run away. But we will continue to fight until we establish an Islamic state."
"The government has no control beyond the tarmac roads. They can't go into the villages without massive force,"he added.
The news comes amid an ongoing row over Afghanistan's presidential poll.
The June election remains disputed, with no declared winner, while an audit of votes is taking place.
However, a leading politician and intelligence expert in Kabul, Amrullah Saleh, dismissed the possibility of taking power in Afghanistan by the Taliban and their extremist allies.
He mentioned that politics and society there have changed too greatly for that to be possible.
Yet there is no doubt that the Taliban do present a serious challenge to the Kabul government.
Especially if they link up with the ultra-Islamists of IS in Iraq and Syria, it would add an entirely new dimension to the struggle.
Across Afghanistan, there are currently 14 different front lines where the Taliban are fighting government forces.
Afghanistan, surrounded by its mountains and deserts, has always been deeply cut off from the outside world.
Now, for the first time, its insurgents are considering making common cause with groups far from their borders.
