ISIS shifts focus to Afghanistan, threatens central Asia
(VOVWORLD) - The head of the Anti-Terrorist Center of the Commonwealth of Independent States said Islamic State terrorists are seeking to shift the main focus of their activity from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan and neighboring states.
 Russia says ISIS is shifting its focus to Afghanistan (Photo: VNA) |
General Andrey Novikov warned that ISIS seeks to subdue some Taliban militants and other local extremist groups to create a new power base in Afghanistan and extend its influence to central Asia. Addressing two UN Security Council committees on Friday, Novikov said ISIS is trying to introduce a new extremist and terrorist model from the battle zones in Syria and Iraq to the central Asian region. He emphasized that the Taliban’s increasing operations in north Afghanistan may indicate that some Taliban commanders are ready to join ISIS.