RUSSIA: ISIS SWELLS IN AFGHANISTAN, MAY SOON REACH 10,000

The terrorist organization ISIS is on the rise in Afghanistan, and the group’s fighters may soon increase to 10,000 in the country, Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya warned at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.

“At the center of our attention is an outbreak of terrorist activity in the Afghan wing of ISIL [ISIS], whose ranks are growing largely due to foreign combatants with experience in the battlefield in Syria and Iraq,” Nebenzya said. “According to our information, the number of ISIL supporters can reach 10,000 individuals.”

According to the diplomat, Russia is concerned about Daesh’s attempts to reach agreement with the Taliban and other organizations in an effort to coordinate operations. According to him, it is necessary to leverage proactively the sanctions mechanisms of the UN Security Council. In this regard, Moscow advocates adopting additional barriers to anticipate terrorist activity in the country by targeting individuals and entities accomplices in the operations of ISIS.

For Nebenzya, the fight against ISIS militants in Afghanistan has everything to be more effective if there is a real union of regional and international efforts against the group. 

At this time, Moscow is working to develop ties both with Kabul and with the Taliban, those elements of the Taliban which are opposed to ISIS and Al Qaeda, and whom the US formerly referred to as the so-called ‘Northern Alliance’, some 15 years ago.

The apparent point of Nebenzya’s fact finding mission and subsequent public statements is to call the question: If the US is in Afghanistan to fight terrorism, then why is ISIS growing? This runs parallels to observations that the US is working alongside ISIS in Syria, and in fact allows ISIS to deploy from its bases and receives regular supply drops from the US.

By Joaquin Flores
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