ISIL killed over 600 Afghans in six months

Afghanistan says more than 600 civilians have been killed over the past six months at the hands of ISIL terrorists, who are trying to strengthen their foothold in the militancy-riddled country.

According to Press TV, the Afghan Defense Ministry released the figure in a report on Tuesday and said most of the victims were young people who had refused to join the ranks of the terror group mainly operating in eastern Afghanistan.

ISIL atrocities have also rendered 20,000 families internally displaced over the past year, it added.

The militant group’s stronghold is currently in the Eastern Province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. It reportedly plans to establish a base of operations within the province’s mountainous terrain.

ISIL, mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has been using a sophisticated social media campaign to woo the local militants, who defect from the main Taliban group.

Although Taliban leaders have warned ISIL against “waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan,” the latter has been trying to expand its outreach there and is reported to have between 1,000 to 3,000 terrorists on its payroll.

ME