ISIS is on the run in Afghan: Ashraf Ghani

Afghanistan’s President declared on Tuesday that Islamic State militants are “on the run” in his country, following a massive military operation that included elite commando units which drove the insurgents out of remote districts on the border with Pakistan.

Ashraf Ghani attributed the success in dislodging ISIS loyalists to ground operations, combined with close air support and the participation of retired commanders who had joined an elite commando division of the Army to take on the extremists in districts of eastern Nangarhar province.

Over the past six months, ISIS fighters — mostly disenchanted Taliban insurgents — had dug in across Nangarhar. The Unites States largely provides air support in the anti-militant struggle in Afghanistan.

ISIS gunmen had fought for control of some remote districts on the Nangarhar border with Taliban, who had previously had a foothold in the region.

Initially, Afghan security forces let the two groups fight each other, as their assets were spread thin fighting insurgents elsewhere.

The valleys and mountains of the border region provide perfect cover for trafficking of mean, weapons, drugs, minerals and other contraband that provide millions of dollars in funding for the insurgency.