{"id":24776,"date":"2018-03-26T22:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T22:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/26\/is-isis-gaining-serious-ground-in-afghanistan-russia-says-yes-the-us-says-no\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:24:35","slug":"is-isis-gaining-serious-ground-in-afghanistan-russia-says-yes-the-us-says-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/26\/is-isis-gaining-serious-ground-in-afghanistan-russia-says-yes-the-us-says-no\/","title":{"rendered":"Is ISIS gaining \u2018serious\u2019 ground in Afghanistan? Russia says yes. The US says no."},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. and Afghan special forces perform a nighttime raid against an IS target in Jowzjan Provice, Afghanistan March 26-27, 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

U.S. airstrikes killed two leaders of ISIS-Khorasan<\/a> \u2014 the Islamic State\u2019s Afghan<\/a> offshoot \u2014 this month, as U.S. commanders claim they are fighting a narrative pushed by Russia<\/a> that IS is growing in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omair and Abu Samaya, ISIS-K\u2019s lead facilitators of foreign fighters, were killed during a meeting in the northern Afghan province of Sari Pul. Later that same night, Afghan Special Security Forces<\/a> killed an additional 13 ISIS-K fighters during a raid in Jowzjan, a neighboring province.
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The raid occurred in an area ISIS-K believed to be a safe haven for the arrival of their foreign fighters and weapons, according to a press release<\/a> from NATO <\/a>Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Coalition conducted a series of airstrikes to support Afghan Commandos clearance of ISIS-K fighters and fighting positions in Pekha Valley, Achin district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 17, 2018. Persistent offensive ground and air operations throughout the winter expelled ISIS-K from more than seven kilometers of mountainous terrain in southeastern Nangarhar. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jacob Krone)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the last two months, Afghan security forces and U.S. targeting has eliminated more than 140 ISIS-K fighters. And while the pressure on ISIS-K coincides with pressure to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table with the Afghan government, officials say the two developments aren\u2019t necessarily linked.
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\u201cWe are not interested in playing political games with the enemy,\u201d Navy Capt. Tom Gresback, public affairs director at Resolute Support headquarters, told Military Times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cISIS-K and the Taliban are not only enemies of Afghanistan, but each other,\u201d Gresback said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he reiterated that neither the Afghan security forces, nor the U.S. military, is playing \u201cgames by empowering one terrorist group over another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t