KABUL - Russia is seriously concerned about increasing influence of Islamic State and Taliban in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during talks with former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, sputniknews reports.

During the meeting, Karzai told Russian president that Daesh or the Islamic State was posing serious threat to the peace and stability of Afghanistan and the entire region, a statement from the former president said.

Putin said that Taliban has boosted its operations in Afghanistan after NATO ended its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in late 2014 and launched a non-combat mission in the country.

"We are witnessing processes that cause serious concern…Taliban is actively spreading its influence, controlling a large part of [Afghan] territory, many border crossing points. What is more worrying, however, is the fact that the so-called Islamic State organization is working more and more actively in Afghanistan, feeling more comfortable there," the president said.

He said that ISIL is currently present in 25 out of 34 Afghan provinces. The Islamic State militant group, which captured large swathes of Syria and Iraq, has recently been making inroads in Afghanistan.

In a letter posted online last week, the Taliban warned the Islamic State against recruiting insurgent fighters in Afghanistan. In May 2015, clashes between the Afghan Taliban and Islamic State left at least 27 dead. (Pajhwok)