Taliban to expel ISIS from east Afghanistan in mass offensive
Taliban leaders say they are massing fighters to drive ISIS from its eastern Afghanistan stronghold, days after a similar offensive removed it from the country’s north.
Sources from the rival militant movement told The National that a Taliban attack in the province of Nangarhar was imminent after weeks of heavy clashes elsewhere.
The Taliban are trying to unite other militant factions in eastern Afghanistan, including the Pakistani Taliban, to turn on ISIS.
One Taliban commander said hundreds of fighters had been told to travel to the east of the country for the operation, to be commanded by local leader Mullah Naik Mohammad. A Taliban “Red Unit” of commandos has also been assigned to the force.
Others in the movement said the assault on Nangarhar would only take place after Taliban fighters had cleared ISIS from nearby Nuristan and Kunar, where clashes have continued for weeks.
ISIS is thought to control nearly half of Nangarhar’s districts, so large numbers of civilians will probably be caught in fighting and forced to flee.
Taliban fighters will also be tackling ISIS in an area where it has remained powerful, despite an aggressive campaign of raids and air strikes by Afghan and United States forces.
“This time all the militant groups will participate in the conclusive battle of Nangarhar for the complete elimination of Daesh,” the Taliban source said.
Another source said: “A lot of work is yet remaining to clear Kunar and Nuristan from Daesh, but it is clear that the Taliban will this time eliminate the scourge of ISIS from entire Afghanistan.”
The Taliban and ISIS have fought since the latter first declared allegiance to the self-proclaimed caliphate of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in early 2015.
The local offshoot of the extremist group has established a firm foothold in Afghanistan even as its heartland in Iraq and Syria has been swept away.
Many of its fighters are defectors from other groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban.
“The Taliban and ISIS have been fighting in Nangarhar since 2015,” said Wahid Muzhda, a political analyst and former Taliban official.
“The Taliban never wanted other groups to come into Afghanistan and fight, because they think one group is enough.”
The recent increase in Taliban attacks on ISIS has raised questions. Diplomatic sources said the defeat of ISIS was sought after by several of the regional powers accused of providing backing to the Taliban. A European diplomat told
The National: “Everyone wants ISIS out of Afghanistan – Nato, the US, Russia, Iran, Pakistan. It’s one of the rare areas where we all align.”
The Taliban has rejected accusations it is co-operating with US efforts against ISIS. It claims the group was created by the West to undermine it in Afghanistan.
Both sides say they have been targeted by US air strikes during the clashes.
More than 150 ISIS fighters, including foreigners said to be from France, Turkey, Indonesia and Central Asia, last week surrendered in the northern province of Jowzjan as they tried to escape a Taliban onslaught.
The surrender marked the collapse of the only ISIS enclave outside of eastern Afghanistan.