US Exaggerates Danger of Taliban to Support Daesh: Afghan Cleric

“In an effort to consolidate its interests in Afghanistan, the US plans to portray Taliban as a danger and put the group under pressure in a bid to open way for expanded presence of Daesh terrorist group in Afghanistan,” Molavi Habibollah Hesam, the head of ‘Afghanistan Islamic Brotherhood’, told the Tasnim News Agency.

“The US and the western countries are supporting Daesh because it acts in line with their interests,” he added.

As regards the newly announced strategy by Washington for Afghanistan, he noted, “There is no positive point in the US President Donald Trump’s new strategy for Afghanistan.”

“It will result in further destruction of the country.”

“US officials on one side claim that they have plan to reinforce Afghan forces and on the other side, they led our forces to terrorist group’s slaughterhouses trap,” he added.

The remarks by Habibollah Hesam came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has told UK based the Guardian that “Daesh does not have any significant presence in Afghanistan and conditions are also not in their favor. However, US occupation forces intentionally seek the spread of Daesh phenomenon in Afghanistan, because whenever the Afghans pick up weapons against Daesh and push them to the brink, US airplanes arrive and begin bombing the tribal fighters with whom our Mujahideen are also sometimes present, which results in the withdrawal of tribal fighters and survival of Daesh.”

“Daesh has very limited area under control in some border and mountainous districts of Nangarhar province, surviving due to the difficult mountainous terrain and with the help of American airpower,” he noted.

It is worth noting that the Pentagon has begun sending additional troops to Afghanistan to carry out Trump’s new war strategy against the Taliban.