120 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar
KABUL (Dispatches) – At least 120 members of the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group have been killed in an Afghan army offensive in the northern province of Nangarhar.
The offensive comes against the backdrop of the July 23 deadly bombings in the capital Kabul, where at least 80 people were killed. Daesh claimed the terrorist attack at a gathering of the Shia Hazara minority as they protested against a major power line project.
Officials in Nangarhar said Tuesday that the offensive was carried out in the mountainous district of Kot, a main stronghold of the Takfiri group where it has set up courts and training camps.
Provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said Afghan troops seized large parts of the area and killed Saad Emarati, a local ISIL commander.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish also said, "They have been taught a lesson for their crimes. We will wipe out IS (ISIL) from Nangarhar.”
ISIL said after the Kabul carnage that it targeted members of the Shia minority for their support for the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian forces have made major advances against ISIL over the past few months, purging the terrorists from some key areas east and northeast of the country.
The rise of ISIL in Afghanistan has already triggered concerns in a country which has been torn apart by decades of Taliban-led militancy and the 2001 invasion of the U.S. and its allies. ISIL has also capitalized on splits emerging among the ranks of the Taliban since the news broke last year of the death of the Taliban founder and long-time leader Mullah Omar.
The offensive comes against the backdrop of the July 23 deadly bombings in the capital Kabul, where at least 80 people were killed. Daesh claimed the terrorist attack at a gathering of the Shia Hazara minority as they protested against a major power line project.
Officials in Nangarhar said Tuesday that the offensive was carried out in the mountainous district of Kot, a main stronghold of the Takfiri group where it has set up courts and training camps.
Provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said Afghan troops seized large parts of the area and killed Saad Emarati, a local ISIL commander.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish also said, "They have been taught a lesson for their crimes. We will wipe out IS (ISIL) from Nangarhar.”
ISIL said after the Kabul carnage that it targeted members of the Shia minority for their support for the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian forces have made major advances against ISIL over the past few months, purging the terrorists from some key areas east and northeast of the country.
The rise of ISIL in Afghanistan has already triggered concerns in a country which has been torn apart by decades of Taliban-led militancy and the 2001 invasion of the U.S. and its allies. ISIL has also capitalized on splits emerging among the ranks of the Taliban since the news broke last year of the death of the Taliban founder and long-time leader Mullah Omar.