Top UN Envoy to Afghanistan Nicholas Haysom today warned the UN Security Council that ISIS has established a growing foothold in Afghanistan, and that while the international Islamist faction lacks “firm roots” in the country, they have the potential to grow dramatically.
The concerns were echoed by Russian deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov, who said the Russian Federation is particularly concerned about its allies along Afghanistan’s north border facing spillover from ISIS.
The size of the ISIS presence in Afghanistan is hotly disputed. Afghan security forces today claimed to have killed 10 ISIS fighters in the Helmand Province.
Among those killed was Hafiz Waheed, a militant commanders who took over a for a man killed in a US drone strike last month. This man was claimed to be an ISIS commander, though officials offered no indications of why they believed that.