According to a report from Spanish news agency EFE, at least 39 ISIS fighters were killed today across Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province. The Afghan Army claimed the attacks targeted police checkpoints, and did not offer casualty figures for security forces.
The Nangarhar Police told a similar story, but they could only confirm 28 ISIS fighters killed. It’s not unusual to see Afghan security forces attempt to inflate the number of militants killed in attacks, so the real figure is anyone’s guess.
ISIS has been recruiting across Afghanistan for over a year now, and Nangarhar appears to be their primary base of operations, with a significant presence in and around the major border city of Jalalabad.
NATO estimates between 1,000 and 3,000 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, though the Pentagon often downplays this, insisting most are just disaffected Taliban trying to piggyback on ISIS’ reputation abroad to set up shop on their own.