700 ISIS militants killed in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in last three months

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 17 (ANI): A top Afghan Army official has said that at least 700 Islamic State (ISIS) militants were killed in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in the past three months during the Hamza operations. Speaking during his visit to Chaparhar district on Thursday, the commander of the 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army, General Mohammad Zaman Waziri, said the ISIS has suffered heavy casualties in the past two years. Emphasizing that the security forces have foiled all attempts by the terror group, General Waziri said they have also been hardly hit during these operations. He added the areas where the ISIS militants have been active were cleared in a joint operation by the Afghan security forces on Wednesday. Khaama Press quoted General Waziri, as saying that the security check posts would be established in the areas cleared of ISIS militants in order to prevent their return. He alleged that the ISIS militants were being trained on the other side of the Durand Line for insurgency activities along the border. Nangarhar has become the stronghold of ISIS and the anti-government armed militant groups have recently increased their insurgent activities in some parts of the province during the recent years. The Afghan forces in coordination with the US forces are conducting counter-terrorism operations to eliminate the militants affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group in Nangarhar province. The growing influence of Islamic State in the country has been a cause of worry for officials for quite some time now amid an already deteriorating security situation and as the state is still fighting Taliban insurgency in some regions. (ANI)