Britain ‘ready’ to attack Islamic State terrorists
LONDON/KABUL: The UK has said that it is “ready” to launch strikes at the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) terror network in Afghanistan after the Pentagon revealed that there are at least 2,000 fighters of the outfit in the war-torn country.
The Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate had claimed responsibility for a deadly blast at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in which nearly 200 people were killed on Thursday.
Britain’s Chief of the Air Staff, Mike Wigston, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday that the UK government could be involved in strikes against IS-K. He was speaking after the UK and the US troops completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
“The UK stands united with our coalition partners in mourning those killed by Daesh’s (IS) horrific attack at Kabul airport and in our unwavering collective resolve to combat Daesh networks by all means available, wherever they operate.
“If there’s an opportunity for us to contribute, I am in no doubt that we will be ready to. That will be anywhere where violent extremism raises its head and is a direct or indirect threat to the UK and our allies. Afghanistan is probably one of the most inaccessible parts of the world, and we’re able to operate there,” said Wigston.
Several Taliban members killed in Panjshir clashes
Taliban forces clashed with militia fighters in the Panjshir valley north of the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday night, with several killed, two members of the main anti-Taliban opposition group said on Tuesday.
Since the fall of Kabul on August 15, Panjshir has been the only province to hold out against the Taliban, although there has been fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province between Taliban and local militia forces.
Fahim Dashti, a spokesman for the National Resistance Forces (NRF), a group loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said the fighting occurred on the western entrance to the valley where he Taliban attacked NRF positions.
He said the attack, which may have been a probe to test the valley’s defences, was repulsed with eight Taliban killed and a similar number wounded, while two members of the NRF forces were wounded.