According to reports, US military commanders have been given the authority to target members of self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Afghanistan, the first such order beyond Iraq and Syria, where the militants control parts of both countries. It comes as Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus urged US to step up their game and stop building troops and instead expand the existing controlled air strikes in Afghanistan, aiding the Afghan soldiers in targeting the insurgent Taliban and the ISIL fighters with its increasing threat in the region. “We should unleash our airpower in support of our Afghan partners in the same way that we support our Iraqi and Syrian partners against extremists,” he is quoted as saying.
The US State Department has recently designated IS’s offshoot in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State-Khorasan, which US officials refer to as “ISIL-K”, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Former members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Afghan Taliban have formed this group – which is based in Afghan-Pak porous border.
It is believed that Daesh, an acronym for ISIL, has encountered a strong backlash from the Afghan government and President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani also ordered the Ministry of Defense (MoD) few days back to keep bombing the Daesh fighters. During a recent meeting with the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Ghani said the counter-terrorism operations to suppress the Daesh loyalists are successfully and effectively being conducted in Nangarhar province.
The statements regarding Daesh in Afghanistan by political figures make one fluctuate between hope and fear. As a result, the establishment of “ISIL-K” and allegiance of Taliban members to Daesh group and their involvement in political crisis are matter of great concerns for the public. Moreover, it was said earlier that Daesh seeks to make links with the central leadership of Iraq and Syria.
On the other hand, a US official has said that Daesh does not have the power to organize operations in multiple areas in Afghanistan. “We currently characterize them as operationally emergent ... We’re not seeing Daesh elements in Iraq or Syria orchestrating events here in Afghanistan,” Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, is quoted as saying.
He further said that Daesh seeks to establish a base in Nangarhar province on the southern border with Pakistan but the Afghan forces carried out successful operation against the militant group in the southern city of Jalalabad, Nangarhar. He said, “They’ve largely been pushed back to the southern parts of Nangarhar province.
That area is very, very rugged, it’s very mountainous, it’s on the border with Pakistan, and that’s where most of the Daesh in Nangarhar currently is.” Shoffner also believed that Daesh lacks financial support in the country. Based on his statements, Daesh is a newly emergent group that will sustain defeat by Afghan soldiers easily and its bark is louder than its bite.
Contrarily, Pakistani officials have claimed that the recent terrorist attack on Bacha Khan University – which killed at least 21 people – was organized from Afghan soil by members of Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Since US found out that “ISIL-K” is formed by members of TTP and Afghan Taliban, therefore it must be concluded that members of “ISIL-K” carried out the attack on the University.
However, the statements by US and Pakistani officials contradict each other as US says that ISIL is unable to orchestrate attack from Afghanistan but Pakistani officials claim that TTP, who is now members of ISIL group, has organized the attack from Afghanistan. If the words of Pakistani officials come true regarding the issue, Daesh poses a great threat to the entire region and perhaps decides to create tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The fact is that the issue of Daesh turned highly complicated and many contradictory statements are expressed over it. It is beyond doubt that a number of Taliban members, from splinter group, pledged allegiance to Daesh and tend to be more violent – the same as forming the ISIL-Khorasan in Afghan-Pak porous border. In other words, the harsh ideology of Daesh was embraced by some Taliban members and they will extend their realm of influence.
The destructive role of Daesh in Afghanistan must not be underestimated – as it has already maneuvered its power across the country through beheading the civilians. It should be noted that rumor has said earlier that the Daesh militant group will usher in heavy attacks in coming spring the same as the Taliban’s spring offensive, which was launched last spring and increased the death toll in the country.
The emergence of Daesh group has left the nation at the mercy of greater threat and made the political structure more fragile. So, the political harm that Daesh inflicts upon the country must not be undervalued.
Therefore, this militant group must be fought with all forces so as not to prolong the militancy the same as the Taliban insurgents.
The counter-insurgency being carried out by Afghan soldiers and US decision to target members of Daesh fighters will mitigate the militancy in Afghanistan and strong military operation is the only effective strategy to be adopted in this regard. Prayerfully, the nation will be able to exercise its rights soon in a country void of violence and terror and there will be no room for the terrorist networks in Afghanistan.