Gen. Cleveland: Daesh potentially an ‘enormous’ threat in Afghanistan

A spokesman for the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan has said the Daesh terrorist group has the potential to be an ‘enormous’ threat in Afghanistan, the Khaama Press reported.

The chief of communications for the coalition, Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, has said the threat exists despite the group has received major setbacks during the recent months, pointing towards the growing US forces airstrikes against the loyalists of the terror group.

“Obviously, we’ve all seen them, how rapidly they are able to spread, in other parts of the world,” Gen. Cleveland said during a briefing at Pentagon.

He said between January and March, the United States has carried out 70 to 80 airstrikes against Daesh in Afghanistan, according to The Hill newspaper.

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) carry out operations against Daesh, and the Taliban fights against Daesh, he added.

Gen. Cleveland said here in Afghanistan, one of the things that appear[s] to be common to just about everybody is that nobody really wants Daesh in the neighborhood.

The General further added taht whether it’s the Taliban attacking Daesh, whether it’s locals trying to rise up against them or the ANDSF operations and now some of our unilateral strikes, we do think they are being contained more than they probably were last fall.”

The General did not have a specific number of how many Daesh fighters remain in the country.

However, earlier estimated indicated there are about 1,000 to 3,000 fighters, and that the number is probably on the lower end of that range, he added.

Source: MENA