Afghan forces kill 132 pro-Daesh militants in a week

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

In ongoing air and ground offensives against pro-Daesh militants in eastern Afghanistan bordering Pakistan, the Kabul government claimed Thursday to have killed 132 members of this group in just a week.

This comes a day after Daesh claimed a deadly suicide attack in Kabul -- the fourth in just two months -- taking five lives. More than 50 people died in recent weeks’ attacks.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, told journalists in Kabul that Habib Yaar -- the brother of Hafiz Saeed, the former head of pro-Daesh Afghan rebels -- is among those killed in fresh offensives in the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.

“The operation will continue until complete elimination of their network”, he said.

In February, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), with U.S. air support, launched military operations in the Achin, Kot, Bati Kot and adjacent restive districts of Nangarhar province, seen as a bastion of pro-Daesh militants, many said to have either crossed the border from Pakistan or the Central Asian republics or switched allegiance from the Afghan Taliban to Daesh.

Last week, Cpt. Bill Salvin, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said a goal has been set to completely eliminate the Daesh militants this year. He told Anadolu Agency the U.S. believes there are currently about 700 Daesh militants located in Nangarhar, with about 200-300 additional militants in neighboring Kunar province.

Factions of pro-Daesh militants are also emerging in the northern Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul, and Faryab provinces.