|
After killing militant commander, Afghan forces push deeper into Islamic State territory
[WASHINGTONPOST] Seeking to capitalize on the death of a top Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... commander, Afghan forces have surged through districts in eastern Afghanistan long held by the radical Islamist group as warplanes have pounded murderous Moslem hideouts in the past week, officials said Monday. The offensive in Nangahar province is targeting Islamic State fighters at a time when their numbers are down and their leadership is in disarray after a U.S.-Afghan commando raid in late April killed the group’s senior regional leader, Abdul Hasib. It also underscores the intensifying focus on Nangahar, where on April 13 the U.S. military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on a complex of caves and tunnels used by the Islamic State, reportedly killing 36 murderous Moslems. Nangahar, on the border with Pakistain, is a main route for murderous Moslem fighters and supplies. As Afghan forces have advanced into some villages for the first time in months, Islamic State fighters are pushing back amid heavy fighting in several adjacent districts, officials said. Afghan officials said at least 34 forces of Evil had been killed by Afghan The killing of Hasib in an April 27 night raid, announced Sunday by the Pentagon and Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani  ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .., was carried out by a team of 50 U.S. and 40 Afghan special-operations forces. They assaulted a cluster of village buildings where Hasib and other Islamic State forces of Evil were staying, killing all of them and 35 guards. Officials said the announcement of Hasib’s death was delayed until his remains could be positively identified. The killing was the third major blow in recent months to the Islamic State in Khorasan, or ISIS-K, the regional branch of the Sunni holy warrior group based in the Middle East. The branch’s forces include former Pak Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... , Uzbeks and other imported muscle. Two U.S. Army Rangers also died during the April 27 operation, U.S. officials have said. They have been identified as Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Bloomington, Ill., and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, of Kettering, Ohio. Military officials said that their deaths may have been caused by friendly fire and that the incident is under investigation. That raid came eight months after the previous ISIS-K leader, or emir, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was killed in a U.S. drone strike. Posted by: Fred 2017-05-09 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=487653 |