Ghani: Afghan Forces Have ‘Obliterated’ ISIS

President reports 600 ISIS surrendered in recent weeks


According to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan military has “obliterated” ISIS forces in the country. He reported during Tuesday’s comments that 600 ISIS fighters have surrendered recently, along with their families.

Ghani went on to say that he is calling for authorities to treat ISIS families humanely. He said the militants surrendered because of airstrikes and low morale.

The Taliban issued a statement dismissing this claim, saying that the government had no real role in fighting ISIS and had served to prolong the fighting by preventing Taliban forces from moving against ISIS territory.

Perhaps more important than who gets the credit is the question of whether this is a real ISIS defeat, as this is just the latest of several claims by Ghani to have defeated ISIS outright, and the group has always rebounded, usually a lot more quickly than anticipated.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.