Kabul rejects Washington’s claim over IS strength in Afghanistan

Kabul: The Taliban-led caretaker government in Afghanistan has dismissed Washington’s claim over the alleged stronger presence of Daesh or Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan as utterly fabricated.

“The statements of US officials about the number of IS militants in Afghanistan are not true. Daesh militants have already been reduced in ranks and suppressed,” chief spokesman of the Afghan caretaker administration Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted.

US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla, according to media reports, has said “IS is stronger today in Afghanistan” and warned of a possible IS attack on the interests of US and allied nations within six months, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Brushing aside the baseless allegations by the US general on the IS strength in Afghanistan, Mujahid said on his Twitter account, “The interest of the US officials in this matter and their grandiosity is aiding and abetting the IS insurgents, which should be stopped.”

The Afghan caretaker government, which has downplayed Daesh, or the IS group, as a serious threat, has vowed to crack down on any armed opponents in the war-ravaged country.

The Afghan security forces have killed four armed militants affiliated with the rival IS group in two separate operations on the outskirts of Kabul over the past week.