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Operations being conducted by Pakistan's military in North Waziristan and Khyber tribal regions have forced al Qaeda, Islamic State (IS) and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) to move into Afghanistan, a Wall Street Journal report quotes Afghan officials and locals as saying.
At least 400 IMU and al Qaeda-affiliated families crossed into Afghanistan last month, who now live in the homes of locals in lawless parts of the country, Afghan officials say.
Read: Kabul asked not to shelter fleeing NWA tribesmen
Haji Abdul Azizi, a tribal elder from Helmand province’s Sangin district, tell WSJ that he hosted a family of Arabic speakers for a night who claimed to be IS loyalists.
"They were six men, seven women and two children, some of whom spoke Pashto", according to Azizi, who added that the "women of the group were armed and took turns keeping watch on each other during the night".
The newcomers try to enforce their own brand of Islam which clashes with local traditions, he added.
Also read| Zarb-e-Azb operation: 120 suspected militants killed in N Waziristan
Afghan officials said that the armed outsiders, traveling with families, have settled in Ghazni, Zabul and Farah provinces. They attributed the influx of militants on the operation being conducted by Pakistan's military across the border.
Tribal elders say that the migrating militants have occupied houses, which were previously vacant, with the assistance of the local Taliban.
A senior Afghan security official said the central government is monitoring the presence of these groups, while a spokesman for international forces in Kabul said that while they had no firsthand knowledge of foreign militants’ activities in Zabul or Ghazni,
The militants who moved in Farah province, and are said to be wealthy, have rebranded themselves under the banner of the IS and have also set up training centres in the locality, Khak-e Safid district’s governor Abdul Khaliq Noorzai said.
“They haven’t fought against Taliban or government yet, but they are actively busy with training,” Gul Ahmad Azimi, a senator from Farah, told the WSJ.
The US military maintains a limited presence in Afghanistan, US and coalition officials say they have limited visibility into militant activity in the country’s hinterlands after the withdrawal of combat troops.
Comments (17) Closed
Pakistan should shut them off
Proxy war is coming Pakistanio
Provided safe passage........... Shame on you all concerned. Pakistan is earning dollars by shedding their own people's blood.
The terrain mountainous region of North Wazirstan connects with Afghanistan, with no one to monitor, its easy for the militants, to move along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
And after pushing these terrorists out, boundaries with Afghanistan should be permanently blocked
Shame on people who let them to enter in Afghanistan. I thought Afghani forces are trained by world best western & ordinary Indian armies. US presence didn't do anything to stop them to enter in Afghanistan although they all knew about the operation by Pakistan Army and militants will fly in Afghanistan.
@rana what a stupid comment. Would you care to elaborate
The Afghans are lying though their teeth. First they claimed when we began the offensive that they were "refugees" and now they claim they are militants. So which is it? And besides - NATO is still in Afghanistan albeit scaling down. Why weren't they tasked with catching these militants? And ISIS has no presence in Pakistan. There are groups that have pledged loyalty to ISIS but ISIS has no following in Pakistan. More lies. Maybe the Afghans should be as serious as Pakistan is about fighting terrorism, rather than providing haven to TTP and BLA (our enemies) which are being supported by india for nefarious purposes.
By the way al qaeda and ISIS are enemies, why would they be seen together. Makes zero sense.
The borders should have been sealed; do it now before it is too late.
@Jainy save passage? do you even know the terrain between pakistan and afghanistan?
@Jainy Dude this mindset is despicable, 5000 soldiers have died, 10,000 injured (disabled), 35000 civilians died, and Pakistan is still fighting as we speak, in Peshawar the children were of generals , majors and army officers yet you are posting your sickening claim here, please get your facts right before spewing garbage again Pakistani people and its army, Army is the only reason Pakistan exists, look at Iraq or syria, they have broken up, its only cuz Pak army is strong and has expelled them from their sanctuaries, yet you're saying we gave them safe passage
As was expected. The operation would make the militants move to Afghanistan and take refuge with the Afghan taliban. From there thy will infiltrate Pakistan once again soon as the heat subsides and relaunch attacks. This is just how the Americans would clear vietcong areas in South Vietnam during the Vietnam war and as soon as the situation became stable the vietcong would reestablish their bases by moving back from North Vietnam and Combodia.
@Sunil , Nothing new, everybody knows even the children.
That's natural. They have homes and relatives on both sides of this unnatural border. Where else would they go?
I hope they have arrested this Haji Azizi and company for assisting these terrorists.
Nata could have easily exterminated these enemies of humanity when they were moving into Afghanistan.But why'd they anything that would bring stability in the region.It'll be detrimental for their interests.