Taliban reject US report on presence of ISIS in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban interim administration on Saturday rejected a US report on the presence of ISIS/Daesh militants in Afghanistan.

Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat rejected the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)’s report on the presence of ISIS (Daesh) and other groups in Afghanistan, emphasizing that ISIS has been suppressed in the country, Tolo News reported.

“Expressing concerns about ISIS activities is essentially a ‘campaign’ in favor of the group,” Fitrat said.

SIGAR in its latest report claimed that militants are still present in Afghanistan and expressed concerns over the activities of ISIS, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)), and Al-Qaeda in the war-torn country.

Pakistan also repeatedly claims terrorists from the banned TTP are based in Afghanistan, from where they carry out attacks in Pakistan. Kabul, however, denies the accusation.

Last month, Fitrat also accused Islamabad of hosting Daesh (ISIS) militants and said Kabul possessed evidence that indicates that Daesh is operating on Pakistani soil.

His statement came after Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said that militant groups, including TTP and Al-Qaeda, are operating from Afghan soil.

Reacting to Fitrat’s accusation, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said it is “just some kind of weird propaganda.”

Source » aa.com.tr