Russia Foreign Ministry: Some 2,500 Daeshis in Afghanistan

Tuesday, 13 September 2016 8:58 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 13 September 2016 9:04 PM ]

A file photo of Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Afghanistan

The Daesh terrorist group’s progression in Afghanistan is a severe security threat for Russia, says a Russian Foreign Ministry official.

Moscow is extremely worried about “the rise of Daesh in Afghanistan because it has far-reaching geopolitical consequences for Russian safety,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry's director of the Second Asian Department in Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov (seen below).

Kabulov, who formerly served as Russia’s envoy to Afghanistan in 2004-2009, noted that the Takfiri terrorist group currently has some 2,500 members in Afghanistan.

“They continue to recruit people and enhance their combat capabilities. If they are not restrained then the chances are that we will have to face an even more powerful force," he added.

He also noted that the US is responsible for the worsening situation in Afghanistan and called on Washington to take more active stance on dealing with the Afghanistan’s current situation.

"They have reduced their presence and did not resolve a single problem, while creating new ones. They have a political and moral responsibility for what is happening in Afghanistan right now," he added.

In this photograph taken on November 20, 2008, US Army soldiers from 2-506 Infantry 101st Airborne Division and Afghan National Army soldiers take positions after running from the back of a UH-47 Chinook helicopter in the Spira mountains in Khost province, on the Pak-Afghan border. (AFP)

Afghanistan has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the country still remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

Taliban militants have also regrouped since the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour earlier in the year and are reported to be currently in control of some areas in Afghanistan. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says it recorded 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injuries in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2016.

Over the past few months, the Takfiri militants in Syria and Iraq have been suffering major setbacks as the two countries’ armies managed to push Daesh out of regions which they previously had under control and kill large numbers of the terrorists.

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