Hundreds of Islamic State militant group’s fighters and their family members have surrendered to Afghan forces in recent weeks, officials said, after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed late last month.
Al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest to kill himself during an operation by US special forces in Syria.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that over the last two weeks, 615 IS fighters and their family members had surrendered to the army in eastern Nangarhar province, the group’s main stronghold in the country.
The latest surrender happened last night in Achin district, involving 18 IS fighters and 55 family members including 24 women and 31 children, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said operations against IS in eastern Afghanistan had increased in an unprecedented manner.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif has said that IS poses a common threat to India, Pakistan, Russia and China.
“The terror outfit is moving its base from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan. There are territories within Afghanistan that are of great concern for everyone. The threat is not faced by just one country, but the entire region,” Zarif said in an interview with India Today television channel.
