US drone strikes kill 9 in eastern Afghanistan
-
This file photo shows a US MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. ©Reuters
Authorities in Afghanistan say at least nine people have lost their lives in two US drone strikes in the country’s troubled Eastern Province of Nangarhar.
According to Press TV, Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said the aerial assaults took place in the Achin district of the province, located 120 kilometers (74 miles) east of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
He added that nine members of the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group were killed in the strikes.
On February 23, at least 25 people died when US forces carried out drone strikes in the same Afghan district. Local officials later identified the deceased as ISIL members.
Afghanistan, parts of which have long been considered a bastion of Taliban, has recently witnessed the emergence of ISIL, which is mainly active in Iraq and Syria.
Nangarhar, in particular, is one area where ISIL has visibly gained a foothold in recent months.
On June 16, 2015, the Afghan Taliban militant group warned ISIL ringleader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, against “waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan.
ME
