An escalating border conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan is threatening to undermine their cooperation on terrorism and peace talks with the Taliban as the Trump administration begins weighing its options to spur progress on both fronts, like reported by stripes.com.

After a blitz of terrorist bombings across Pakistan left more than 125 people dead, Pakistani forces began shelling both sides of the border Friday, aiming at camps used by a group tied to the Islamic State that claimed most of the attacks. Pakistan also closed all border crossings.

Afghanistan has protested that the shelling is forcing hundreds of villagers to flee their homes. U.S. officials have asked Pakistani military leaders to cooperate with their neighboring country in going after the militants, but Pakistan has threatened to take further unilateral action.

And in a tit-for-tat exchange of demands, Pakistan asked Afghan officials Saturday to hand over 76 alleged militants based in Afghanistan, while Afghan diplomats Sunday called for action on a list of 32 terrorist training centers and 85 militant leaders they say are in Pakistan, including the Haqqani Taliban faction that is fighting against the Afghan state.

“Turmoil in Afghanistan has created space for terrorist organizations to find their foothold there,” said Nafees Zakaria, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. He said the group responsible for the recent bombings was based in Afghanistan as far back as 2014, when it massacred 141 people at a Pakistani army school, an assault that outraged the country.

Zakaria added that other countries in the region are concerned about the “growing footprint of groups like ISIS in Afghanistan.” The Islamic State is also known as ISIS.

Russia in particular has been seeking a role in solving the Afghan conflict, hosting regional meetings on it and expressing support for the Taliban as an antidote to a spillover of Islamic State groups into Central Asia. That approach has alarmed U.S. military officials who urged the Trump administration to raise troop levels in Afghanistan to block further Taliban advances.

There is plenty of irony in Pakistan’s finger-pointing. Afghanistan has long complained that Pakistan provides sanctuary for Taliban leaders and factions, a charge it denies. And the group most linked to last week’s bombings, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, is an outgrowth of the Pakistani Taliban, which was driven into Afghanistan by a massive Pakistan army operation in 2015.

Once the group had relocated, some members split off and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, a radical Sunni militia. Those militants have overrun several Afghan border districts, despite repeated efforts by Afghan forces to push them out, and they have claimed the bombing of several Shiite mosques in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

“Afghanistan is the victim of terrorism, not its shelter,” Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, declared Sunday. He called Pakistan’s border attacks “an act of aggression” and warned that if diplomatic efforts fail, “Afghans will defend their soil with whatever means available.” A Foreign Affairs Ministry official said Afghanistan might even seek U.N. sanctions against Pakistan for supporting terrorist groups.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director for Asian studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, described Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as one of the Pakistani Taliban’s “most bloodthirsty factions,” with a “small but brutal contingent” in Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, Kugelman added, the Islamic State has been forming “opportunistic partnerships” with radical religious groups of all kinds, including some that officials had for political reasons been reluctant to curb. The danger, he said, is of growing collaboration between the Islamic State and “high-octane local militant factions eager to latch onto its still-powerful brand.”

Given the common threat this phenomenon has created for Pakistan and Afghanistan, analysts pointed out, it would seem a perfect moment for their governments to join forces , especially when they are eager to prove to the new administration in Washington that they are serious about fighting Islamist insurgents and terrorists.

Seven militants have been killed in a pre-dawn operation in a port city in southern Pakistan, security forces said Monday to aa.com.tr.

A spokesman for Rangers, a paramilitary force, said in a statement that security forces raided a “terrorist hideout” on the eastern outskirts of Karachi — the country’s commercial capital and most populous city — and killed the “terrorists” who refused to surrender.

According to law enforcement agencies, more than 100 suspected militants have been killed in clashes and operations across the country over the past week following a fresh wave of suicide attacks and bombings, which have left over 100 people dead and 400 others injured.

The attacks included a suicide bombing at a shrine in southern Sindh province that killed 88 people last week.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of Pakistani militant groups, and Daesh and its affiliates have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Meanwhile, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said in a statement Monday that the military had killed “several” suspected terror group members, accused of trying to regroup in the restive North Waziristan tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, and destroyed their “terrorist” hideouts.

In June 2014 Pakistan launched a full-scale military onslaught on the TTP and its allies in restive North Waziristan and adjoining tribal regions near the Afghan border.

The army claims to have killed over 5,000 suspected militants, while more than 700 troops have also died in clashes and landmine blasts during this period.

A number of young Afghans whom were arrested by the Afghan security forces confessed that Daesh militants recruited them through Facebook exaggerations to fight against Afghan forces in districts of Nangarhar province, like reported by ariananews.af.

18 year old Zubair from Kunar province said, “I was using Facebook that Daesh militants encouraged and provoked me to join the queue to fight against Afghan security forces in Nangarhar I heard they are in Askamina district.”

Meanwhile Kabul resident Fazel Ahmad was also encouraged by his friends to join Daesh rank to fight Afghan security forces, amid 5 other detainees said there are Afghans and foreigner fighters among Daesh militants fighting against Afghan Government.

He said, “ I couldn’t attend school, then my friends invited me to join Daesh, gradually we came to Nangarhar and joined Daesh militancy to fight Afghan security forces.”

Afghan security forces have intensified assaults to target Daesh militants but Daesh militants use resident’s houses as safe places, in the main time lack of ammunition kept the Afghan security forces not to conquer areas only to maintain security for the front line with 20 soldiers.

Afghan National Army soldier at front line Faqirullah said, “We have made the whole in the wall to target Daesh militants hiding in the houses in front of us.”

“We have come to this point, Daesh militants cannot escape from the area.” ANA soldier Rouf said.

Earlier Afghan security forces have launched several military operations against Daesh militants in Nangarhar, but failed to maintain security for the areas came under the control.

Pakistan on Friday summoned officials from Afghanistan embassy and handed down a list of 76 wanted terrorists to be handed over to Islamabad, like reported by newindianexpress.com.

“Afg Embassy officials called in GHQ. Given list of 76 Ts hiding in Afg. Asked to take immediate action/be handed over to Pakistan,” tweeted military’s media wing DG ISPR Major-General Asif Ghafoor.

The officials were summoned at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to lodge protest against the use of Afghan soil by terrorists to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

The move comes in light of the recent terror attacks, the latest on Thursday night at shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan that has so far claimed at least 70 lives while dozens of others were wounded.

Post the attack, Major-General Asif Ghafoor had vowed response towards the recent terrorist acts that he alleged were being executed on directions from hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

“Recent Ts acts are being exec on directions from hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. We shall defend and respond,” he tweeted.

Post the shrine attack on Thursday, Pakistan shut down the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan for an indefinite period of time.

Torkham border connects Nangarhar province of Afghanistan with Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas ( FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A top drug smuggler who was famous as ‘Wolf’ has been arrested in western Nimroz province of Afghanistan, like reported by khaama.com.

According to the local security officials, the drug smuggler, Naeem famous Wolf, was arrested during a special military operation conducted by the police forces of the counter-narcotics department.

Provincial police spokesman Mohammad Omari said Naeem was arrested along with another drug smuggler.

He said the Afghan security forces also confiscated 38 kg of crystal methamphetamine which was professionally placed in a vehicle for the smuggling.

Omari further added that the two drug smugglers are originally residents of Khashrod district.

According to Omari, the Afghan security forces have continuously conducted operations to arrest Naeem since eight years.

He said Naeem was one of the major drug smugglers in western Nimroz province.

The latest attempts by the Afghan security forces to counter drug smuggling and production came as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said late last year that the drug production has increased by almost 43 per cent in the country.

According to UNODC, the area used to farm the poppy plant, the source of opium, increased by 10% to 201,000 hectares.

At least 38 loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during the newly-launched Shaheen-25 military operations in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior said Wednesday to khaama.com .

The Nangarhar police however said at least 22 militants were killed in the past 24 hours in Haska Mina and Kot districts.

At least 9 militants were also wounded and another militant was arrested alive by the security forces.

According to Nangarhar police, at least 11 of the militants were killed in Haska Mina district after they were targeted in Gorgori and Payeen areas.

The nine militants were also wounded in the same areas and one of their fighters was arrested.

The remaining 11 militants were killed during the clearance operations in Kot district as the Afghan forces targeted the militants in Sepai and Patadari areas.

The Nangarhar police commandment said huge caches of explosives, weapons, and ammunition were seized during the operations.

The security forces and local residents did not suffer any casualties during the operations, the police commandment added.

The anti-government armed militant groups including the loyalists of ISIS terrorist group have not commented regarding the report so far.

High in a remote, mountainous region of Pakistan, fearful residents have found leaflets containing ISIS propaganda that threaten attacks against their communities.

The sheets feature the black flag of ISIS, alongside pictures of an execution and armed militants waving automatic rifles as they parade through streets, thought to be in Iraq or Syria, according to nbcnews.com.

It’s not clear who distributed the leaflets in the Kurram tribal area, and their origin cannot be independently verified by NBC News.

Pakistan’s government says ISIS has no real organizational presence in the country, and the papers may have been produced by lone sympathizers rather than the group’s more central elements.

However, American officials warned last year that ISIS is attempting to establish a foothold across the border with Afghanistan, and the group has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks.

The leaflets’ appearance has worried recipients that the influence of the militant group is spreading into new areas.

“We found these pamphlets in the morning,” Amjad Hussain, 46, a tribesman in the town of Sadda, told NBC News. “I believe the militants came to our village in the night and distributed the pamphlets.”

Another tribesman, Javed Hussain, 43, said that even though their hostile region has been targeted by other militant groups in the past, the specter of ISIS was more threatening still.

“The whole world knows about ISIS and its cruelties,” he said, an illustration of just how effective the organization’s propaganda machine is at spreading fear across the globe.

The text is in Pashto, a language spoken in some parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It warns Shiite Muslims, who make up most of the population, that they are now targets for ISIS, which practices an extreme version of Sunni Islam.

“We are going to launch attacks against the Shiite community … by the help of Allah, we will soon clear these areas of infidels,” said the leaflets, which were sent to NBC News by local tribesman Hussain Ali.

It also claimed that ISIS was “in contact with our fellow mujahideen” — an Arabic term meaning “holy warriors” — and that they would help coordinate these attacks on Shiites.

ISIS has teamed up with local Pakistani militants in the past. In October, the group cooperated with a radical organization called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in an assault on a police academy in the city of Quetta that left 63 people dead.

More than 300 miles north, Kurram is no stranger to violence, with groups linked with al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban carrying out attacks in recent years. The latest of these came last month when the Pakistani Taliban claimed a bomb blast that killed 30 people at a fruit and vegetable market in Parachinar, the province’s main administrative town.

But there’s no evidence ISIS has ever planned to carry out an attack in Kurram — until now.

In response to the leaflets, locals held a meeting Thursday and demanded the country’s security forces come up with a strategy to nip the potential threat in the bud.

“This is very, very serious threats to our community,” local resident Akbar Hussain said. “We demanded of the government and military authorities to put strict security measures on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border so the terrorists can’t enter Pakistan and kill our innocent people.”

This threat is made worse, he said, because the security forces have confiscated weapons from local villagers in an attempt to curb violence in this restive region.

“Our border with Afghanistan is long and porous,” Hussain added. “The terrorists can enter anywhere if proper security measures are not made.”

Ikramullah Khan, the top administrative official from Kurram province, said he was aware of the leaflets and the case was being investigated.

Officials from Pakistan’s government and military declined to comment when contacted by NBC News.

Pakistan’s government officially denies that ISIS has any meaningful presence in the country, although it does admit the group enjoys sympathizers and supporters.

Despite questions about the ongoing war in Afghanistan, President Trump has so far chosen silence over substance. But perhaps it doesn’t matter, as an illuminating exchange that took place before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week all but guaranteed what his policy will be, like reported by theamericanconservative.com.

Trump’s approach to Afghanistan will no doubt involve more American troops, more aggressive activity on the ground, and a less definite schedule for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. In other words, don’t expect a big shakeup of the status quo. Perhaps the most notable change is that the military won’t try to have it both ways, keeping soldiers in the country while telegraphing meaningless “timetables” for an exit.

This appears to be the result of letting those in uniform—or in the case of new Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the recently retired—make the tough calls. Mattis oversaw Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013 as the leader of U.S. Central Command, and he has already signaled he will not waver on the American commitment. The new homeland-security secretary, retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, commanded forces in Iraq and also lost his son, a Marine who died while serving his third tour in Afghanistan; he, too, obviously feels there is unfinished business there.

As for Congress, most members fall into one of two mindsets—unflinching resolve to increase the U.S. footprint, or resignation that there is no other way. And the president? While at first blush it might look like Trump only has the bandwidth for his oft-stated goal of  “eradicating radical Islamic terrorism from the face of the earth,” his generals—with the help of the most hawkish senators on Capitol Hill—are making sure that Afghanistan is considered part of that fight.

So it did not escape notice when Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, packaged the mission as an urgent priority that ultimately Trump would have to embrace. Speaking to senators last week, Nicholson said staying in Afghanistan is part of our “enduring counterterrorism platform” (a phrase he repeated several times), which “is critically important to our national security” and “the homeland.”

Leaving the country now would be folly, Nicholson argued, because without the U.S. and NATO there to finish the mission, the population would inevitably fall into the hands of extremists, heightening the risk of a domestic terrorist attack. In the words of George W. Bush, “we will fight them over there so we do not have to face them in the United States of America.”

Indeed, there were reports in January that President-elect Trump had already spoken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and promised to consider a bump-up in troops. That conversation was never confirmed by Trump’s people. Nor was it denied. The White House said Trump spoke to Ghani last week, the same day as the Nicholson hearing, and promised him continued American support for security but offered no clarity about troop numbers. Many believe it’s a fait accompli.

According to Nicholson, Afghanistan is “a stalemate,” with no fewer than 20 different terror groups operating there now. In addition to the well-known Taliban and al-Qaeda, there is also an Islamic State franchise, IS in Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has taken responsibility for a recent spate of ruthless suicide bombings in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Without a trace of irony, the general said that after 15 years of war in Afghanistan, the country now “has the greatest concentration of terrorist organizations in the world.”

Nicholson suggested a “few thousand” more troops would be needed to continue training, advising, and filling in where private contractors are now taking up the slack. Currently there are some 8,400 U.S. troops and 26,435 U.S. contractors in Afghanistan, a country of 30 million people. Most of these personnel are in training and advisory roles, while a much smaller number are special forces dedicated to counterterrorism. Nicholson said he believed the administration was “open to a discussion of an objectives-based approach.”

But the situation is a lot uglier and more complicated than the generals readily admit. Nicholson did not deny nor rebuke senators who raised Afghanistan’s notorious corruption issues. Other enormous obstacles to progress include Pakistan’s seeming lack of interest in controlling the flow of terrorists into Afghanistan, the growth of the opium industry feeding the terror groups there, and the total cost to American taxpayers, which has now reached three-quarters of a trillion dollars.

Interestingly, Nicholson also argued that both Iran and Russia were meddling in Afghanistan, deliberately undermining U.S. and NATO efforts there. According to Nicholson, Shia Iran is supporting Sunni Taliban in Afghanistan and recruiting Shia to fight for Bashar Assad (and ultimately against U.S.-backed forces) in Syria. Russia is allegedly “legitimizing” the Taliban by suggesting they are fighting ISIS in Afghanistan, while the Afghan government is not.

During these kinds of hearings, when faced with big brass with a chest full of medals and ribbons, lawmakers of most stripes appear to have one default setting: agree to a little more time. Victory is surely right around the corner, they reason, if only we hang in there and give the Afghans the tools to fight for their country.

And even if Trump does get cold feet over troop increases, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, just itching for a blood-on-the-Senate-floor fight with Trump, are practically begging the generals to ask for more troops.

At the hearing, McCain glowered when talking about President Obama’s initial plans for withdrawal (abandoned by the end of his term) and rules of engagement he said tied soldiers’ and Marines’ hands when it came to fighting the enemy. Now the need to stay the course is even greater, McCain said, “because of the incredible rules of engagement … because of the unwarranted reduction of forces led us on the predictable path today that was predicted—predicted!—by those of us who actually know about warfare.”

Critics were disheartened after last week’s hearing. “More troops?” asked retired Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, now a fellow at Defense Priorities. “How would the introduction of a few thousand troops reverse the stalemate that you claim we are under and have been for 16 years? What will these new troops do? How will they reverse the situation on the ground that is currently impossible to do?”

“Thus far the government of Afghanistan has shown an utter inability to govern,” he added. “Putting more U.S. troops in to accomplish anything will be like putting a fist in a bucket of water: wherever my fist goes, the water [insurgency] is displaced; as soon as I withdraw my hand, the water comes back.”

Every single measurement suggests that the current course is not working, but thanks to the power vacuums and weak leaders pockmarking the landscape, Nicholson is right about one thing: the very worst extremists could overrun if Afghanistan if U.S. and NATO abandon it now.

“The real issue for president Trump is whether he has the strategic patience to continue U.S. military involvement until you can come up with a negotiated solution,” said Lawrence Korb, who was an assistant defense secretary under the Reagan administration. “If he doesn’t, he is going to have to decide whether he is going to try to win militarily or engage in nation building—neither of which are plausible alternatives.”

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) has in recent weeks rolled out some grim metrics about the lack of progress there. In the meantime, some Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, attempted to draw attention to the price of staying but stopped far short of suggesting they’d stop a mini-surge of fresh troops.

“We are now paying $13 million every day in Afghanistan; more than 2,000 [U.S. soldiers] have made the ultimate sacrifice there; more than 8,400 American servicemembers are there today,” Warren reminded Nicholson. “Our military could not and should not be there forever.”

Beyond that, SIGAR reported in January that Afghan commanders continue to pocket the salaries of “ghost soldiers,” troops who exist on the books but not in reality and could number in the “tens of thousands.” Not surprisingly, only 63 percent of the country’s districts are under government control today, with 15 percent ceded to the Taliban last year. Afghan soldiers actually on the battlefield suffered 15,000 casualties in 2016, including more than 5,600 deaths.

Meanwhile as much as half of U.S.-purchased fuel for the military is being siphoned off somewhere. Corruption is still rampant in the government, too, with myriad examples of waste, fraud, and abuse associated with the $117 billion the U.S has invested for reconstruction there. Even though the U.S and NATO have promised more than $15 billion more, who has the confidence it will go where it’s needed?

Opium production is up, even though the U.S. has committed $8 billion to counternarcotics, according to SIGAR. As much as 60 percent of the Taliban’s funding is coming from poppy production and cultivation.

And the Afghan people? Some 3,498 civilians were killed in 2016, the highest number recorded since 2009. This included a ten-fold increase in ISIS related deaths and injuries, according to the United Nations.

Korb says asking for more troops “is what generals do,” even if they have to exaggerate the threat to the homeland. But Congress is falling down on its job to engage more rigorously. Legislators should question how many troops are needed and what exactly the end-game strategy is—beyond the usual platitudes about destroying the terrorists, helping the Afghans build their government, “working with Pakistan,” enabling a “peace and reconciliation process,” and blaming the Iranians and Russians for what doesn’t work.

SIGAR official John F. Sopko appeared to say it best, addressing the words of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford last September. “Withdraw and the democratic government may well fall,” said Sopko. “Stay, and continue to do what we have been doing, and we may be faced with what General Dunford has described as a stalemate.”

Obama was willing to risk such a draw in Afghanistan for eight years. But will Trump? Or is something worse than a stalemate on the horizon?

A Taliban group leader has been killed as his explosive device went off prematurely in the eastern Logar province, a local news agency reported on Monday, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

Qudrat who was in charge of a group of at least 40 insurgents, according to Khaama Press (KP) lost his life as his Improvised Explosive Device (IED) prematurely exploded in Logar province very recently.

Taliban militants are largely relying on suicide bombings and frequently using IED as the weapon of their choice especially in organizing roadside bombings to target military convoys. They are yet to make comment on the report.

The eastern Logar province with Pul-e-Alam as its capital 60 km south of Kabul has been the scene of increasing Taliban-led insurgency over the past few years.

Afghan security forces backed by US air support on Sunday launched a military operation codenamed ‘Shaheen-25’ against Daesh or Islamic State militant group in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said to pajhwok.com.

On the day one of the operation, provincial government and military spokesmen briefed media persons about the objectives of the operation in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

Afghan National Army’s 201st Selab Military Corps spokesman Maj. Shirin Aqa Faqiri said the operation was started from Kot and Haska Mena districts and would be gradually extended to other districts.

He said the operation involved police and army personnel and they would be provided air support by US forces if needed.

He said it was unknown when the operation would be wound up, but it would continue until the IS threat was eradicated.

Nangarhar’s governor spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, told Pajhwok Afghan News on the sidelines of the press conference that the newly-launched operation was different past operations.

He said efforts were being made to protect areas where security was maintained with people’s help.  He said NATO forces would provide air support if required.

Public uprising members would be armed and equipped with the help of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) to keep security for areas to be cleared of the IS, he said.

Khogyani said local people had promised to help the government protect their areas and ensure security.

Meanwhile, provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal said the police would strongly cooperative with the Afghan National Army during the operation.

He said the provincial police headquarters would also establish checkpoints for public uprising forces in areas recaptured from the IS and would provide the militiamen with basic instructions on how to protect check posts.

Despite previous operations “Shafaq 2” and “Qahar-i-Selab” still dozens of Daesh militants operative in four districts of the province.

Mashriqiwal said some 15 joint and special offensives were conducted this month alone against militants, killing at least 52 and injuring 20.

During the same period, 43 suspected militants and 41 crimes suspects were detained in the province, he concluded.