At least eight Daesh insurgents were killed in foreign troops airstrikes in eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday night, local officials said on Thursday.
The airstrikes were conducted in Achin and Nazyaan districts of the province on Wednesday. In addition three other insurgents were injured, a spokesman for the provincial governor Attaullah Khoghyani said.
“The first attack took place in Achin after foreign troops targeted safe havens belonging to insurgents. Six Daesh insurgents were killed and three were injured. Two other Daesh insurgents were killed in another airstrike in Nazyaan,” Khoghyani said.http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/26465-two-key-taliban-commanders-arrested-in-helmand-operation
However, he did not provide further details.
This comes after the U.S military announced this week that it is adding troops in eastern Afghanistan for offensives against Daesh.
According to reports, the head of the U.S-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, is making use of a special authority given to him recently by U.S President Barack Obama to bring in additional assets, including ground forces, for short-term counterterrorism operations.
An Afghan security forces commander in the east, Gen. Mohammad Zaman Waziri said the next phase will involve a deployment of Afghan ground forces to clear the area, with close air support provided by the U.S and Afghan air forces.
“For a month, we will target them with airstrikes and special forces operations,” he said in a recent interview. “And then next month, we will launch a ground operation against them.”
Daesh first emerged in districts of eastern Nangarhar province as foreign forces were withdrawing in 2014. Since then, the militant group has sought to expand its presence and recruit more fighters.http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/26464-8-daesh-fighters-killed-by-foreign-troops-in-nangarhar
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