IS Reemergence
Afghan joint forces drove IS extremists out of the Pachir Wa Agam district in Nangarhar last December, and then hundreds of local men joined the central government's security forces to help ensure that IS radicals cannot return to the area.
The Afghan Defense Ministry talked down any "serious" IS threat in the area, asserting that militants are trying to terrify unarmed locals at the behest of regional intelligence agencies. General Mohammad Radmanish told VOA that multiple military operations are under way in eastern Nangarhar province to remove remaining IS fighters.
"We will boost these military operations to provide security and wipe out the traitors. We are also starting to venture the new strategy and improvise our local army units once the areas are cleared," Radmanish added.
During the past three years, more than 14,000 families were displaced internally in Nangarhad and only 8,000 of them have returned to their houses, Afghan authorities said.
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Joint U.S. and Afghan forces' air and land operations killed at least 100 IS militants in the province, Afghan authorities said Tuesday. (VOA)