IS accumulates force in Afghanistan, Russian official

The "Islamic State" terror group located in Afghanistan is growing and wants to use the country "as a springboard to expand further," a Russian official said Wednesday.

The situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated recently, as the Taliban movement launched offensives in major cities and the influence of the IS has also increased, Director of Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestiya.

The terror group is thriving in Afghanistan but it behaves quietly and accumulates strength so as to act decisively; it doesn't waste its resources to fight Afghan and American troops because it wants to use Afghanistan as a springboard for broader expansion, Kabulov said.

Kabulov also said Taliban has taken no real step to negotiate.

"Taliban is not configured to negotiate, they are determined to fight," Kabulov added.

Source: XINHUA