Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: The Deputy Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), Zahir Qadir on Saturday, warned that the loyalists to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group will establish the Khurasan Caliphate if they manage to seize Tora Bora, known locally as Spīn Ghar, a cave complex, part of the White Mountains in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
“The loyalists of the terror group have managed to take control of a strategic area in Pachiragam district,” Qadir said during the general session of the parliament.
He added that the area is a few hundred meters away from Tora Bora and the loyalists to the terrorist group will become successful if their attempts managed to expand foothold.
He also claimed that helicopters are air dropping supplies including food and mineral water to the loyalists of the terror group in the areas under their control.
The remarks by Qadir came as the top US commander in Afghanistan earlier said the loyalists of the terrorist group are attempting to establish a caliphate inside Afghanistan.
“Right now we see them very focused on trying to establish their caliphate, the Khorasan caliphate, inside Afghanistan,” General Nicholson told NBC News.
He said the push is “principally a non-Afghan movement”, adding that the U.S. has seen foreign fighters, particularly Uzbeks from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, joining the Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K.
Gen. Nicholson further added that the U.S. also sees many Pakistani Pashtun from the Pakistani Taliban who joined IS-K moving into Afghanistan to fight.
According to Gen. Nicholson, the IS-K is “completely rejected by the Afghan people,” and explained that the broader ISIL philosophy is “the antithesis of Afghan culture.”
“With our Afghan partners, we’ve been able to reduce that territory significantly and inflict heavy casualties on them to include killing their leaders,” he said.
