Afghan militants consider joining Islamic State

Afghan militants consider joining Islamic State

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fighters from a militant Islamic group in Afghanistan, allied to the Taliban, say they are considering joining forces with Islamic State (IS), according to BBC News.

Their commander also said they would still fight the Afghan government, even after Nato forces left in 2014.

Commander Mirwais said that if IS, which he called by its Arabic acronym Daish, proved a true Islamic caliphate, they would link up with it.

The news comes amid an ongoing row over Afghanistan's presidential poll. The June election remains disputed, with no declared winner, while an audit of votes is taking place.

"We know Daish and we have links with some Daish members. We are waiting to see if they meet the requirements for an Islamic caliphate," the BBC quoted Commander Mirwais as saying.

"If we find they do, we are sure that our leadership will announce their allegiance to them. They are great mujahideen. We pray for them, and if we don't see a problem in the way they operate, we will join them."

Across Afghanistan, there are currently 14 different front lines where the Taliban are fighting government forces.

Commander Mirwais has moved from group to group in the past, but now he belongs to Hezb-e-Islami, a group with a good deal of blood on its hands.

Over the years, Hezb-e-Islami has become famous for its ferocity, which has sometimes alienated even the Taliban themselves.

Among Western journalists, the group has had a bad reputation ever since the 1980s, when it invited a freelance cameraman working for the BBC to join one of its operations, then killed him during the night in order to sell his equipment.

Afghanistan, surrounded by its mountains and deserts, has always been deeply cut off from the outside world. Now, for the first time, its insurgents are considering making common cause with groups far from their borders.

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