An expected US drone strike destroyed 21 ISIS fighters in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, officials stated.
Major Haroon Yousafzai, a representative for the 201st “Selab” Corps told that the strike happened on Sunday in the province’s Khogyani district.
“The Afghan and US forces jointly targeted the ISIS hideouts in the Sikanar area of Wazir Tangi through unmanned aerial vehicles,” he said.
The Afghan branch of ISIS which is called as ISIL-KP after the historical region has been battling both the coalition and Taliban forces since their emergence in 2015.
US drone strike kills 21 ISIS fighters
The US-led coalition has been involved in regular airstrikes on ISIS positions across Nangarhar, the group’s main hideout.
The group’s four top leaders have also been murdered in current US drone strikes. An ISIS commander told The National that a large number of civilians had been killed by US drone strikes, including the fact that the Afghan government was playing down the number of casualties.
The commander mentioned, “We will continue fighting these forces, including the Taliban, who are meeting these foreign forces for peace talks. We are true fighters and doing jihad”.
The aggressive attacks on ISIS leadership were increased after a deadly crash in Jalalabad, on September which killed 68 people.
Tadamichi Yamamoto, the senior United Nations official in Afghanistan stated, “I feel profound indignation at this current wave of attacks deliberately targeting civilians. The planners of the attacks must face justice.”
But not every person is satisfied with the military’s success.
Mr. Yousafzai mentioned, “ISIS fighters are resilient, even the Taliban who won against ISIS in the north are reluctant to bring out action against them in Nangarhar”.
John Nicholson, US military commander recently restated the necessity to eradicate the extremist group from the country.
He also declared the press, “We are going fully at ISIS and we also note that the Taliban is fighting ISIS and we encourage that because ISIS should be eliminated.
