A driver-by-trade with hands worn from hard work, Sayed Jan is not a man who scares easily. He has seen years of Taliban control of his remote Kunar Province, and watched as American troops once dug in to fight back.

But the recent arrival of black-masked Islamic State (IS) militants and their brutal ways in eastern Afghanistan has prompted fear, and convinced him to flee his village.

“When [IS] burned the school, two people tried to stop it and they shot them,” says Mr. Sayed, whose gray beard is turning white. He had just arrived safely in Kabul, and says he plans to bring out his nine children one at a time, to avoid IS detection.

Of all the multitude of problems in Afghanistan – from a resurgent Taliban and political gridlock, to an exodus of despair by the nation’s best and brightest – IS’s emergence and control of remote areas in the east is not a top priority.

The extreme views of IS, and the foreign flavor of its cadre, mean the group is not likely to displace the puritanical Taliban as the Islamist militants of choice in Afghanistan. But IS jihadists are already fighting the Taliban and have absorbed some of its rival’s most radical members, including a top commander, Mullah Mansour Dadullah, who was reportedly killed last month in an internecine firefight in southeastern Zabul Province.

$500 a month in pay

IS fighters are known to have infuriated ordinary Afghans by killing and abusing them; and they have also taken ownership of the Taliban’s anti-government, foreigners-must-go message. But IS has also made gains on the ground and may grow stronger, Afghans say, simply by paying high salaries of up to $500 per month.

That makes IS a challenge to the government and some Taliban factions, say United Nations monitors. Afghan officials — sometimes prone to exaggerate about IS — contributed to a UN report in June that IS has been sighted in 25 of 34 Afghan provinces. The UN report also said that recruiting is the primary goal of IS, and the organization’s “branding” is going “viral.” Afghan security forces, however, describe IS as a “potential” new threat rather than an “immediate” threat.

“The only reason people join [IS] is because they pay more money,” says Abdul, a former small shop owner whose family fled Nangahar province, near the Pakistan border. The Taliban “don’t pay fighters, so they get weaker day-by-day.”

The IS focus, by contrast, “is on teenagers and young people,” says Mr. Abdul, speaking in Kabul. “They are very emotional, it’s very easy to convince them [to join IS].” Abdul says he watched as IS arrived and burned Taliban homes in his village. He was forced to dig graves for relatives and friends who were executed because of their ties to the government.

“We are really afraid,” he says. “Our children are always crying when they see IS. They have very dangerous faces.”

Reports of IS first emerged in Afghanistan in mid-2014, as Pakistani militants came across the border to avoid a Pakistani government crackdown. In January this year, they announced the creation of the “Khorasan” franchise of IS, an ancient term that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It is unclear what direct ties this Khorasan branch may have with the self-declared IS “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. But some of the more brutal tactics are being copied. A propaganda video of the execution of 10 alleged collaborators has turned up showing victims forced to kneel en masse on explosives.

When IS militants came to Sayed’s village months ago, they shot their guns and gathered all men at the mosque. They introduced themselves as IS and ordered the men to sever all ties with the government. That first visit, they arrested six people for their official connections to Kabul, but elders got them released.

The next time, they arrested almost a dozen more; then another 18 on a third round. Sayed says he was among the latter, and was held overnight because his beard was not long enough. In a neighboring village, some of those arrested were killed.

Business with you, you and you

“They would point people out, and say: ‘You, you, and you – we have some business with you,’” recalls Sayed. Two of his teenage sons were “invited” to join Daesh, he says, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

In his area, children were not allowed to go to school and women were forced to stay at home. These rules are enforced by beatings in the street. Sayed estimates that of the 350 families in his village, some 60 of them have fled to safety in large cities like Jalalabad or Kabul.

“The new Islamists are bad to the family, knock on the door at night demanding food or a safe place to sleep,” he says. His Naray district once housed a US forward base, but today has little central government presence. “People don’t have the ability to fight them…. I don’t know about other areas, but in Naray is it not in Daesh policy to be friends with us.”

The brutal treatment is in contrast to the welcome IS portrayed for itself when visited by an Afghan television crew earlier this year. IS commanders showed how local children were given over to their cause willingly; they were taught the tenets of jihad, how shoot a pistol, and how to throw a grenade.

But that is not how the IS has treated residents of Kunar.

“They tell us, ‘You are not Muslim because you are with this government. You are with the Americans, so don’t pretend you are Muslim’,” says Sayed. “If the security situation stays as it is now, it’s possible for Daesh to go all over the province.”

“It’s a big change, because in the Taliban regime it was not like this. There were schools and women could go out. The villagers cooperated,” he adds. “But these people are really different. We don’t know their rules, or who they are.”

csmonitor.com

Russian officials have recently committed to cooperate with Afghanistan in war on terror, because maintaining security in this country guarantees regional in particular Central Asian countries.

Fazel Hadi Muslimyar, senate (Meshrano Jirga) chairman after his return from Russia told media that Russian officials have stressed that their country would never step up against Daesh in Afghanistan without informing the Afghan officials. Russian authorities have pledged direct cooperation with Afghanistan in war on terror, adding Russia is about to deliver 10,000 Kalashnikovs (AK47) to Afghan forces in upcoming days, Muslimyar further said. During the trip to Russia, Afghan delegation have asked the country’s officials to never support other non-government individuals or groups in fighting terrorism particularly Daesh terrorist group, because it can harm both sides, Muslimyar added.

Likewise, the delegation asked the Russian government to equip the Afghan security forces with a few choppers in fighting terrorism, Muslimyar continued.

Russian officials in a meeting with Afghan security advisor have already promised to cooperate with Afghanistan in fighting terrorism. On regional countries’ role in fighting terrorism, a number of experts said that Moscow was concerned on terrorists’ infiltration in its borders. So, if the regional countries to honestly cooperate with Afghanistan, peace and stability would be soon prevailed throughout the country. An expert on regional affairs, Akram Andishmand said, ‘To prevent terrorist groups’ influence their soils, great powers of the region including Russia should help the Afghan government in the respect’.

Another expert, Salih Mohammad believe that currently, the Afghan security forces are faced with international terrorism and the great powers of the region in particular Russia should honestly cooperate with Afghanistan, because this is a regional war and is not only depended to Afghanistan, therefore, worldwide cooperation is needed.

Meanwhile, praising the Afghan security forces efforts in ensuring security in northern provinces, a number of our countrymen have stressed that the government should not let the terrorists to influence the north and should seriously step up in this regard. A Kabul citizen, Omran said, ‘Afghanistan is among those countries that have been always given victimized, but the regional countries particularly Moscow should be beside Afghanistan, because ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan links to peace and stability in the region and the world’.

This is while that many countries have already announced their support to Afghanistan in fighting terrorism, but unfortunately, restoring peace and stability that are the Afghan people old dreams have not been fulfilled yet. Now, it is expected that by regional countries efforts, one day long-lasting stability is maintained in Afghanistan.

bakhtarnews.com

NATO foreign ministers have agreed to keep about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan through next year, while pushing forward with a funding drive to help the country through 2020, the Associated Press reports.

Alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the commitments — roughly 7,000 U.S. troops and 5,000 from other NATO member states and partners — following a meeting on Afghanistan Tuesday, December 1, as part of a two-day gathering of NATO foreign ministers.

Stoltenberg called it a “very substantive” meeting on the Resolute Support mission that provides advice, training and assistance to Afghan security forces. As of October, NATO had over 13,100 troops in Afghanistan.

Stoltenberg also said several allies had given “a number of pledges” for new funding for Afghanistan, and NATO was hoping to firm up decisions on funding at its July summit in Warsaw.

panarmenian.net

The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday said Taliban and Daesh fighters are being trained in Pakistan and then sent to Afghanistan to fight security forces.

Interior Minister Noorulhaq Olomi said insurgents are recruiting the youth and are continuing their attacks on Afghanistan while giving orders from Pakistan.

Speaking at an event on Tuesday which saw security forces destroy 19,000 kgs of drugs along with a large amount of alcohol, Olomi said drugs are one of the main revenue sources for insurgents.

Olomi said: “Taliban and Daesh fighters as always are being trained in Pakistan. They are equipped and financed there and are then sent to Afghanistan. They [insurgents] are being given hope while in Pakistan of achieving their goals in Afghanistan.”

He went on to say: “Drugs are one of the main sources of income for insurgents in the region. They continue their attacks and are recruiting our youth through drugs.”

Meanwhile the Counter-Narcotics Minister Salamat Azimi said the problem of drugs is a major challenge for Afghanistan.

He said: “The drug problem is a serious challenge for Afghanistan and the international community.”

“In order to overcome the problem, we need the joint cooperation of the international community.”

The counter-narcotics department under MoI recently announced its achievements in fighting the scourge. Since January they have seized over 100 tons of drugs in 1,135 operations.

They also said the department had seized over 400 vehicles, 240 weapons and 244 mobile phones from drug dealers and smugglers.

The seizure of drugs increased by 16 percent this year and alcohol by 36 percent.

Security force members from the unit meanwhile arrested a total of 1,876 people – including 20 policemen, 29 soldiers, 26 women and two foreigners – a Kazakhstani and an Iranian – for dealing and smuggling drugs.

Of the total, 227 were king-pin drug smugglers, 49 were middlemen and 1,600 were dealers.

tolonews.com

NATO leaders are expected on Tuesday to determine 2016 troop levels for Afghanistan and to forge a new strategy for countering unconventional threats on several fronts, NATO’s top official said.

“The security environment in which we meet today is dark,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the start of a two-day foreign ministers’ meeting. “Terrorist attacks, violent instability, the breach of international rules.”

At NATO headquarters, allies will put together a plan for continuing their training and advisory mission in Afghanistan, seeking to shore up commitments as new threats pull the alliance in other directions. These challenges include the Islamic State militant group on NATO’s southern flank and Russia’s muscular posture on the alliance’s eastern border.

Allies will step up plans for dealing with the southern threat, where in recent days Germany and the United Kingdom have announced plans to increase the presence of air and sea power, Stoltenberg said.

NATO will consider ways to bolster contributions to the U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Afghanistan as well as more measures for reassuring the security concerns of Turkey, which downed a Russian warplane last week that had allegedly violated its airspace.

“We will discuss how we can continue to support Turkey and provide different kinds of assurance measures,” Stoltenberg said.

Already, Spain has a Patriot missile battery in Turkey on an air-defense mission, and the U.S. Air Force recently deployed a group of F-15s to patrol Turkey’s border with Syria. More measures are being discussed, Stoltenberg said.

In the wake of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula last year — a stealth operation that involved troops without Russian military uniforms and other unconventional techniques — NATO has focused more attention on developing a strategy for dealing with so-called hybrid threats. Stoltenberg said NATO will adopt a new hybrid warfare strategy, “which applies in all directions.”

At the same time, allies will examine ways to improve communication with Moscow, to “restore predictability” and avoid future confrontations during operations in Syria, he said.

On Afghanistan, the U.S.-led NATO alliance is expected to approve a presence that parallels a new American plan to keep a larger-than-expected force in the country amid concerns about a resurgent Taliban. The new U.S. plan, announced by the Obama administration in October, calls for a force of 9,800 troops to remain in Afghanistan through most of next year to continue its mission to advise and assist. The U.S. troops will operate from several U.S. bases, including those in Bagram, north of the capital of Kabul; Kandahar, in the country’s south; and Jalalabad, in the country’s east.

Obama’s original plan would have pulled out all but a small embassy-based contingent of troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, a move that would have likely spelled the end to NATO’s Resolute Support mission. However, concerns about recent gains by the Taliban prompted a policy shift.

Under the new plan, at least 5,500 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan through 2017, leaving future drawdown decisions to the next American president.

The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lute, told reporters Monday that it is expected that the alliance will “parallel the U.S. decision to sustain its current mission and its current force posture through 2016.”

“The bottom line I think is that for NATO, Afghanistan remains unfinished business. And despite these competing challenges closer to home, we have to follow through on those commitments,” he said.

Meanwhile, near the conclusion of NATO’s meeting on Wednesday, allies will vote on whether to extend NATO membership to Montenegro, a small county that for years has sought to become the alliance’s 29th member.

stripes.com

Efforts by Islamic State (IS/ISIS) to establish bases in Bangladesh may pose a serious security threat to the North East region of India in the days to come, reports The Assam Tribune on November 30. According to reports, security agencies are of the view that the possibility of the dreaded terrorist outfit making attempts to spread towards Assam cannot be ruled out. The IS recently made public its intention of spreading towards Bangladesh and security sources are of the view that if the outfit manages to achieve its goal, the security scenario in the North East will face a serious threat. The fundamentalist forces are already trying to use the ethnic clashes in Assam in 2012 a major issue as the leaders of such forces are mentioning about the riots in their speeches. Under the circumstances, if the IS gets a foothold in Bangladesh, they will definitely try to spread to Assam by making use of the sentiments of the people affected by the riots, sources pointed out.

Sources also pointed out that the IS might try to join hands with forces like Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and as the JMB already has contacts in Assam it will be easier for the IS to use such contacts. The IS, in its monthly mouthpiece Dabiq mentioned about the plan to expand to Bangladesh. The December issue of the Dabiq devoted a full article entitled “Revival of jihad in Bengal”. By Bengal, the IS meant Bangladesh. The article gave a detailed account of the history of jihad in Bangladesh and stressed the need for revival of jihad in that country. The article said that all the mujahedeens should unite to fight against “oppression of Muslims” in Bangladesh and Burma.

Security analyst and former General officer commanding (GOC) of the 4 Corps of the Army, Lieutenant General (Retd) DB Shekhatkar expressed the view that India should take adequate precautionary measures to prevent the IS from spreading its bases to India. He said that India should also take the neighbouring countries, particularly Bangladesh and Myanmar on board and a coordinated effort should be launched to check the growth of IS before it is too late. The outfits like IS never differentiates international borders and India should not wait for massive explosions to go off and adequate precautionary measures should be taken before it is too late. As the IS mentioned about Bangladesh and Myanmar, the North East region will be trapped in between and there is every reason to believe that the region would not be left out of its operational area by the IS, Shekhatkar said.

satp.org

In air-attack of government forces, 15 armed Taliban were killed and 5 others wounded in Chardara district of Kunduz province.

Col. Ghulam Hazrat Karimi press chief of second unit of national army in Kunduz told BNA, the operation conducted by Air Forces in Char-dara district last night in which 15 insurgents were killed and 5 others wounded.

The Source added, during the operation no civilians sustained harms.

According to Ghulam Hazrat the operation is still continuing in some parts of the province armed Taliban with suffering high casualties, lose areas under their control.

He added, the operation is continuing until the complete clearing of the area.

bakhtarnews.com

Nine Daesh members were killed in a clash by security forces in Nangarhar province yesterday.
The clash occurred in Achen district, five other Daesh were also injured.

The clash took place while members of Daesh group harassment residents of the area in suburb of Achen district bazaar.

A border police commander in the east of the country confirmed the news told BNA, Daesh members’ harassment people in Achen district bazaar which targeted by security forces and killed.

bakhtarnews.com.af

Four Al-Qaeda militants were killed in a joint action by police and Counter Terrorism Department in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Police spokesman said, on a tip-off police and CTD personnel carried out operation in Wador area within the limits of Gadani police station.

Exchange of fire took place between security officials and the terrorists in which four Al-Qaeda terrorists were killed.

Militant commander Shoaib Cheema and Hanif Muhammad managed to flee during the action.

Police said, the terrorists had entered Punjab via Balochistan and wanted to launch a major terror activity in the province.

The terrorists were affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the police added.

thenews.com.pk

Islamic State (IS) may carry out terror strikes anywhere in the country using a single terrorist also known as ‘lone wolf’ to create a mayhem, Union minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju reports The Times of India.

“Challenges are there. We have to accept that it is a reality. The threat is there,” Kiren Rijiju said. In a statement that has a potential to trigger a controversy, Rijiju said Muslims from the southern states were “attracted” more to the IS ideology than their north Indian counterparts.

“It is a reality (some south Indian Muslims getting attracted to ISIS). It is a fact. But we should not undermine our vigil in other parts of the country,” he said.

Rijiju said some web portals are under watch for their role in spreading the IS propaganda, but it is important to note that the servers of the web portals were not located in India.

satp.org