KABUL: Terror outfit Islamic State is unable to make significant inroads in Afghanistan and its fighters are contained in a small part of the country, said a U.S. General today. While the IS has stepped up its offensive in the east of Afghanistan, it “is primarily contained to one district out of 404 districts within the entire country,” said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, spokesman of the US-led military operations in Afghan.
Military officials had estimated that somewhere between 1000 to 3000 IS fighters operating in Nangarhar province, however, the number of fighters is “probably on the lower end of that,” Shoffner said. Addressing media reporters, he said that many of them are former Pakistani Taliban fighters “that have changed allegiance to Daesh”. The fighters were pushed into Afghanistan by a crackdown on militants in Pakistan. “Daesh does not have a fundamental ideological appeal” among the Taliban, he said. “Pretty horrific facts committed by Daesh in Nangarhar province that really were unpopular with the population” have helped stall their support from growing in the country. Yet, the group remains a “strategic threat” in Afghanistan, Shoffner said.
With the backing of US drones, Afghan forces have seen to launch offensive to beat the militants in the province. The terror of the IS members have displaced thousands of people from the area. The White House has given the US military legal authority to target the group's fighters in Afghanistan as a result of which, attacks on the IS have increased.
