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Captured IS fighters to be treated as PoWs, Afghan govt tells US
[DAWN] Afghanistan told the United States that fighters of the so-called 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.... (IS) group who surrendered last week will be treated as prisoners of war, and not honoured guests, despite the warm welcome they had initially received, a top US general said on Wednesday. While pressure has been building for peace talks between the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... , an Afghan affiliate of the IS, which has gained a reputation for brutality, is not part of any reconciliation push, US officials said. Last week, an Afghan governor’s office floated the possibility of amnesty for a group of IS fighters, including two senior commanders, who gave themselves up after being driven from their strongholds by Taliban. Gen Joseph Votel, head of the US military’s Central Command, said the Afghans acknowledged the surrender, the largest of its kind so far by the hard boy Islamic State group, "could have been handled better". "The government of Afghanistan has assured us that these IS-K fighters will be treated as war prisoners," Gen Votel said, using an acronym for the Afghan affiliate of the group. He added that the fighters would be investigated and held to account for any war crimes they committed. Civilians who fled the last festivities have accused IS fighters of atrocities, giving detailed accounts of women and girls being taken from their families, raped and, in some cases, murdered. "They have essentially waged a pretty vicious campaign against the people without regard to civilian casualties," the Central Command chief said. Posted by: Fred 2018-08-10 |
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