JALALABAD - More than 70 small Daesh or Islamic State (IS) groups have been operating in eastern Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan and they include foreign militants, the governor said on Tuesday, Pajhwok News has reported .
Hayatullah Hayat told a press conference here that it was not known how many foreign and how many local rebels were in the ranks of these 71 small IS groups.
The group has claimed responsibility for a latest bloody attack in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, targeting the minority Sikh-Hindu community.
The Nangarhar governor said clearing and overnight operations were being conducted to suppress the terrorist outfit.
Under new plans, security forces were trying to take control of strategic areas and establish check-posts there to crack-down on the rebels, Hayat said.
Meanwhile, Nangarhar police chief Brig. Gen. Ghulam Sanee Stanikzai during an exclusive chat with Pajhwok said the strength of Daesh was not above 1,000, but the group’s recruiting process was ongoing.
“Militants from foreign countries also join Daesh, we eliminate them, but more come to swell their ranks.”
However, Israrullah Murad, a member of the provincial council, said the number of IS was declared as 1,000 when it first emerged in Nangarhar, and still their number was told as 1000 despite daily reports of their killings in operations.