Islamic State in Afghanistan aspires to attack US: Marine General Frank McKenzie
Islamic State
A senior US general has called the Islamic State(IS) in Afghanistan as a serious threat, adding that the IS terrorist organisationaspires to attack the United States.
"ISIS in Afghanistan certainly has aspirations to attack the United States. It is our clear judgment that as long as we maintain pressure on them it will be hard for them to do that, " Marine GeneralFrank McKenzie said.
Further calling the IS "very worrisome in eastern Afghanistan", McKenzie added, "combat operations have failed to reduce the group's fighting ranks. Others have said they are thought to number in the thousands".
Associated Press had earlier reported that the Islamic State was expanding its footprints across Afghanistan. Citing US and Afghan security officials, the report claimedthat the terror group was recruiting new fighters and plotting attacks on the United States and other western countries.
General McKenzie is the head of US Central Command and manages the country's military operations across the greater Middle East.
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The Islamic State grew in Afghanistan with the emergence of the jihadist militant group in Syria and Iraq inearly 2014.
The IS in Afghanistan calls itself as the Khorasan Province, a name applied to parts of Afghanistan, Iran and central Asia in the Middle Ages.
Besides assisting the Afghan defence forces against the Taliban, the US forces in Afghanistan are combatting the Islamic State group separately.