Daesh still controls 70pc of Tora Bora: Qadir

KABUL area in eastern Nangarhar province is under Daesh control, a public representative from the province said on Monday.

Haji Zahir Qadir warned the government of protests if it didn’t pay heed to the issue.

They would take to the streets and block the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway, Qadir told Monday’s session of the lower house.

With each passing day, he said, Daesh was expanding its foothold in Nangarhar, rendering people prone to be sacrificed everyday.

He called as his children security personnel currently fighting in frontlines against Daesh in different parts of the province.

 “We do not allow anyone to martyr our soldiers; more than 2,000 military troops are stationed in Tora Bora, but the operation is halted and the move has allowed the terrorists to kill innocent people.”

According to him, currently 70 percent of Tora Bora area was under Daesh control and the government, availing public uprising forces, should clear the area of IS militants and give Tora Bora’s protection responsibility to area people. He said residents were ready to protect their area.

He said Daesh existence had a negative impact on people’s morale and the government should take steps for clearing the area as soon as possible.

“If the government does take action against the militant group in a few days, the Nangarhar people will block the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway for traffic until Tora Bora is completely cleansed of Daesh.”

He said people were fed up with cruel activities of Daesh and a sincere and serious combat mission was needed to crush the group.

However, Maj. Shirin Aqa, spokesman for 201st Military Corps in the east, said joint security forces backed by NATO counterparts had launched an operation in Tora Bora area of Chaprahar district and the operation was successfully ongoing.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News the entire Chaprahar district was cleared of Daesh in 24 hours, but some areas it took three days to be completely cleared. “As Tora Bora is a mountainous area, the operation has been slow going.

sns/ma

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