Hundreds of militiamen fighting the emergent loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan were placed under the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) control on Saturday.
The militiamen were led by Deputy House Speaker Zahir Qadir to suppress the ISIS loyalists as they were rapidly gaining foothold in different parts of Nangarhar province.
The provincial security officials said Saturday nearly one thousand militiamen were placed under the ANSF control in a bid to re-organized them.
Deputy Provincial Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) Chief Baz Mohammad Hanifi told reporters the militiamen have agreed to jointly fight the ISIS terrorist along with the Afghan security forces and within the framework of the security institutions of the Afghan government.
He said the militiamen are equipped with weapons and the government will consider wages and other facilities for them after completing it’s formalities.
The step to include the militiamen under the government control came days after reports emerged regarding the brutal execution of detained ISIS fighters in an apparent revenge attack that sent shockwaves across Afghanistan and globally.
The brutal execution and display of the decapitated heads of the ISIS loyalists on a roadside sparked furor among the Afghans and government officials.
Qadir had earlier said the militiamen started fight in the form of public uprising forces after the government failed to curb the growing insurgency activities of the terror group in Nangarhar.
The loyalists of the terror recently stepped up insurgency activities in different parts of Nangarhar province despite the counter-insurgency activities by the Afghan forces have been rampant to suppress the activities of the terror group.
The terror group has been described to be in an emergent stage in Afghanistan with the coalition forces officials saying the loyalists of the terror group are attempting to establish a regional base in Jalalabad, the capital city of eastern Nangarhar province.
The commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan Gen. John Campbell said last year that foreign militants from Syria and Iraq had joined the loyalists of the terror group in eastern Nangarhar province and are trying to consolidate links with the leadership of the terror group based in Syria and Iraq.
