U.S. And Afghani Forces Capture ISIS Capital in Afghanistan

After a joint effort by U.S. and Afghani forces that started in April, Islamic State’s capital in Afghanistan has been captured. The capital, Deh Bala, lies on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Roughly 170 terrorists were killed in the operation, which was mounted by roughly 600 American Green Berets and three Afghan commando companies; the Americans and Afghans reported they suffered no casualties.

Brig. Gen. John W. Brennan Jr., commander of NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, said, “This area, two months ago, was controlled by Daesh (ISIS). We pushed them into the mountains, so they cannot harm the people here.”

Lt. Col. Josh Thiel, from the U.S. First Special Forces Group, stated, “This was one of the main green zones that did two things. One, it provided money, finance, logistics to ISIS and we’ve taken that away from them. Additionally, ISIS was using this as a site to prepare and move high-profile attacks on Kabul and Jalalabad.”

According to military officials, soldiers found booby traps and the bodies of two beheaded women. The operation commenced with troops arriving by helicopter and setting up an operations base near the village of Gargari, near to Deh Bala.

As The Daily Mail reports, “Militants loyal to Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the movement’s local affiliate, first started appearing in Nangarhar around four years ago. Since then, the movement has gained a reputation for brutality extreme even by the standards of the Afghan conflict, making a trademark of executions by beheading or explosion.”