KABUL (Ariana News): The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), in response to claims about the strengthening of Daesh in Afghanistan, says that some Western circles are seeking to magnify Daesh.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan and does not have the ability to launch attacks from Afghanistan against any country.
Recently, the former commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that Daesh is planning to attack America and other Western countries from Afghanistan.
Following the recent deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, the group made headlines around the world.
Many Western media organizations have reported that ISIS-Khorasan – or Daesh in Afghanistan – was responsible for the attack and that the group has gained strength.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, the former CENTCOM commander retired General Frank McKenzie said Daesh is planning to attack America and other Western countries from Afghanistan.
He said the group has a “strong desire” to attack the US and other foreign powers and that the threat is only growing.
“We should believe them when they say that. They’re going to try to do it,” McKenzie told ABC News.
“I think the threat is growing,” McKenzie continued, pointing to the dangers from affiliates like ISIS-K after the broader group took responsibility for a deadly attack in Moscow earlier this month. The group also said it was behind a mass bombing in Iran in January.
“It begun to grow as soon as we left Afghanistan, it took pressure off ISIS-K. So I think we should expect further attempts of this nature against the United States as well as our partners and other nations abroad,” McKenzie said. “I think this is inevitable.”
McKenzie also raised the issue of the US troops withdrawal in August 2021 and said a contingent should have been left behind to fight Daesh.
While US President Joe Biden said at the time that an “over-the-horizon capability” to “act quickly and decisively” in Afghanistan would be maintained, McKenzie disputed that.
“In Afghanistan, we have almost no ability to see into that country and almost no ability to strike into that country,” he said.
That is a boon to the Islamic State and similar such militants, he said.
“If you can keep pressure on them … in their homeland and their base, it makes it hard for them to conduct these types of attacks,” he said. “Unfortunately, we no longer place that pressure on them, so they’re free to gain strength, they’re free to plan, they’re free to coordinate.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), however, says that some Western circles are seeking to magnify Daesh. The IEA has said Daesh has been suppressed for more than two years and is unable to launch attacks outside of Afghanistan.
However, experts believe that the threat of Daesh will increase with the passage of time, and to fight this group, all countries need to work closely together and repel the threats.
IEA: Some Western circles seeking to magnify Daesh
