Afghanistan/Da’esh – Coalition aircraft struck Da’esh’s new radio station in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar late on the 1 Feb 16 part of NATO's escalating campaign to stop the extremist movement taking root in the country. Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, said the overnight raid also involved Afghan ground forces and destroyed a Da’esh broadcaster in Achin district, killing 29 militants including eight working on the radio and online operation. The emergence of fighters loyal to Da’esh has introduced a dangerous new element to Afghanistan's long-running civil conflict, with the group violently challenging the much larger Afghan Taliban movement in pockets of the country. NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, which is led by the US military, confirmed that American forces carried out two counter-terrorism air strikes in Achin district, but declined to provide further details. "We have increased the pressure, the US has increased the pressure against Da’esh in the past few weeks," said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and NATO's top spokesman in Afghanistan. Shoffner added: "What we don't see is Da’esh in Iraq or Syria having the ability to control operations here in Afghanistan. We also don't see any one Da’esh leader in Afghanistan able to control operations in more than one part of the country at a time." But he said it had the potential to become a more serious threat if left unchecked. Over the past year it has grown in strength, challenging its larger rival for control of lucrative smuggling routes as well as dominance of the insurgency. The raid on the radio station appears to have been aimed at eliminating an increasingly influential propaganda tool, which had targeted growing ranks of unemployed young men in the region.
A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up after joining a queue to enter a police office in Kabul on the 1 Feb 16 killing 20 people and injuring at least 29. The Afghan capital was hit by a series of suicide attacks last month as the Taliban stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government. They coincided with renewed efforts to revive a peace process with the insurgent movement that stalled last year. In a separate statement, the NATO mission condemned the attack, which it said killed 20 police officers and injured 25 others as well as seven Afghan civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that said 40 police officers had been killed or wounded. The group often makes exaggerated casualty claims for its attacks.
Russia – Russia has detained seven alleged members of the Islamic State group who wanted to stage terror attacks in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, authorities said on the 8 Feb 16. The group was held on the 7 Feb 16 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and included Russians and Central Asian nationals, while its leader came from Turkey, the FSB security service said in a statement.
A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up after joining a queue to enter a police office in Kabul on the 1 Feb 16 killing 20 people and injuring at least 29. The Afghan capital was hit by a series of suicide attacks last month as the Taliban stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government. They coincided with renewed efforts to revive a peace process with the insurgent movement that stalled last year. In a separate statement, the NATO mission condemned the attack, which it said killed 20 police officers and injured 25 others as well as seven Afghan civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that said 40 police officers had been killed or wounded. The group often makes exaggerated casualty claims for its attacks.
Russia – Russia has detained seven alleged members of the Islamic State group who wanted to stage terror attacks in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, authorities said on the 8 Feb 16. The group was held on the 7 Feb 16 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and included Russians and Central Asian nationals, while its leader came from Turkey, the FSB security service said in a statement.
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