Airstrikes target Islamic State

Washington — The United States has expanded its fight against the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, launching 20 airstrikes in the eastern part of the country in the last three weeks, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The strikes come in the wake of a decision by the Obama administration to give the Pentagon the authority to conduct airstrikes against IS in Afghanistan, as the militant group's numbers there continue to grow.

Army Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner told reporters that 1,000 to 3,000 Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan are trying to establish a base of operations in the rugged mountains of Nangahar Province. He declined to say how many airstrikes the U.S. has conducted in the east, but other U.S. officials said it was around 20. The officials weren't authorized to discuss the numbers publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a teleconference from Afghanistan, Shoffner said that the Islamic State militants have been launching attacks in the east but don't have the ability to conduct operations at more than one location at a time. He said that IS leaders in Iraq and Syria haven't yet been able to orchestrate any of the Afghanistan attacks.

Most of the Islamic State fighters are from other groups that are simply rebranding themselves as Islamic State, and Shoffner said many are former members of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban.

While the Islamic State group has been a problem in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition efforts are more focused on the volatile south, where the Taliban have been launching persistent attacks since October in an effort to regain their heartland.