The top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan said Thursday that Afghan forces, with U.S. backing, have dealt significant battlefield defeats to Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan.
Army Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson told reporters in a live video briefing from Kabul that “We have helped the Afghan Security Forces to reclaim significant portions of the territory that was previously controlled by Daesh.”
Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
“We have killed many Daesh commanders and soldiers, destroyed key infrastructure capabilities, logistical nodes, and Daesh fighters are retreating south into the mountains of southern Nangahar as we speak,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said just eight months ago the regional Islamic State affiliate, known as the “Islamic State Khorasan Province,” had spread into 10 districts in southern Nangarhar. Then in January, after President Obama expanded the authorities U.S. commanders could use to go after the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, the Afghan Security Forces shifted to the south, with U.S. air support and advisers on the front lines.
Now, as a result of operations by Afghan forces, as well as attacks from Taliban fighters who also see the Islamic State as an enemy, their area has shrunk to parts of three or four districts in southern Nangarhar, according to Nicholson.
The general said in the course of counterterrorism operations in southern Afghanistan over the past six months, five U.S. servicemembers have been wounded, but none received life-threatening injuries.
“Two of the servicemembers have already been returned to duty with their units. The other three were evacuated out of theater. They’re in good spirits. They’ve talked to their families. We expect a full recovery,” Nicholson said.
