Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during an Afghan Air Force aerial demonstration ceremony in Kabul
Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said yesterday that the Islamic State group has been defeated in the eastern parts of the country, where it had taken over some remote districts.
Speaking at the opening of parliament, Ghani said Afghan forces had dislodged IS loyalists from regions of Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan.
“Afghanistan will be their graveyard,” he said in an address broadcast live on national television.
IS has had a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year. Officials have said most militants calling themselves IS are disaffected Taliban fighters.
Afghan forces have claimed victory following a 21-day operation in the Achin and Shinwar districts of Nangarhar, claiming at least 200 militants killed, a provincial official told The Associated Press.
Achin and Shinwar are among a number of districts in the remote mountainous regions along the Pakistan border that were overtaken by IS loyalists in recent months.
The Afghan government is attempting to end the war on its territory with hopes of drawing the Taliban into a dialogue and eventual peace talks. The IS presence has been principally in the east, where they have also fought the Taliban for territory.
The Taliban have intensified their war to overthrow the Kabul government. The usual winter lull on fighting did not come in the southern regions, notably Helmand province where most of the opium that produces the world’s heroin supply is grown.
Officials have said the fight in Helmand, which the Taliban consider part of their heartland, is for control of the smuggling routes, and some Taliban groups have been fighting each other. The drug production is worth up to USD3 billion a year. The Islamic State group is believed to be interested in Afghanistan because of the riches offered from contraband, including weapons, alcohol and minerals. AP
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