GHAZNI CITY (SW): Pro-Daesh militants are trying hard to regain control of a number of areas in Ghazni and Zabul provinces.
Local officials believe the militants are trying to make a come-back to the areas they lost to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) over a year back. Khaliq Dad Akbari, chief of the provincial council, told Salam Watandar that a number of pro-Daesh militants of ethnic Uzbek background have settled down close to Ghazni’s Jaghori district and Zabul’s Kohistan district.
He noted that these militants have abundance of resources that is why a number of Taliban fighters have also switched sides to them.
Gen. Ameenullah Amarkhail, the security chief for the province, has acknowledged that the pro-Daesh rebels are busy in revitalizing their bases in this part of the country. He however, assured the Ghazni residents that the ANSF and locals are committed and united to challenge this emerging threat.
But, not all are convinced. Fatema Rahimi, a female member of the house, said that the ANSF are not doing enough in this regard. She said that the Nawa district of the Ghazni province and Khak-e-Afghan district of Zabul province have been under the control of the Taliban for many years now.
Hameedullah Tokhi, a representative from Zabul province in the Wolesi Jirga (lower house), said in this regard that the Taliban and pro-Daesh rebels in Ghazni province have overcome their differences, and have carried out a number of joint terrorist operations. He underlined that the districts under the control of the militants here have turned into military basis for the Taliban to wage attacks across the country.
ENDS
