Anti-Daesh offensive launched in Pachiragam, Chaparhar

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Afghan security forces have launched an operation against Daesh — or Islamic State (IS) — militants in Pachiragam and Chaparhar districts of eastern Nangarhar province, officials said on Thursday.

Chaparhar district had been cleared of militants and a search operation was currently underway, they said. The offensive came in the wake of stepped-up attacks by the insurgent outfit in the towns.

An official, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News Daesh fighters were able to reach Tora Bora on Wednesday.

However, the government rejected the claim as groundless. Maj. Sherin Aqa Faqiri, spokesman for the 201^st Selab Military Corps, said the operation was launched by Afghan forces, with close-air support from foreign troops, inn Chaparhar and Pachiragam.

He said security forces had purged Chaparhar of Daesh fighters and a house-to-house search was ongoing in the district. The security forces killed five Daesh rebels during a clash in Spin Jumat area.

Gen. Mohammad Nasim Sangin, commander for the fourth brigade of the corps, also said Chaparhar had been cleared of Daesh militants. Pachiragam district would also be purged of militants soon, he promised.

Attaullah Khogyani, the Nangarhar governor’s spokesman, also said Chaparhar had been cleared of Daesh and Afghan forces had reached Pachiragam to flush out the rebels. He did not provide more details but said the operation was decisive.

However, a credible source in Pachiragam said no reinforcements had arrived so far in the district. Malak Tor, a tribal elder, also said the security situation had not improved and people were worried about a Daesh presence.

mds/mud

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