The Afghan government said Saturday it has detained about 700 ISIS group fighters and family members in eastern Afghanistan over the past six months.
The Afghan intelligence service, the National Directorate for Security, said among the 700 are at least 75 women and 159 children. Many of the group are from foreign countries. Many were arrested, but some turned themselves in.
The NDS said all of the fighters and family members were transported to the NDS compound in Kabul. Earlier, security forces had surrounded dozens of remaining fighters in their homes in various districts in the region. The NDS said the operation was ongoing.
There was no way to independently confirm that the prisoners the government presented to reporters and photographers at the NDS compound Saturday are affiliated with the ISIS group.
Most of the arrested ISIS members are from Pakistan, Jordan and Central Asian countries, said an NDS officer who asked that his name not be used as agency rules don't allow him to be identified.
As many as 277 foreigners are among the arrested militants, he said.
Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted earlier this month that ISIS in eastern Afghanistan has been weakened by operations carried out not just by the US and Afghan forces, but by the Taliban as well.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham said last week that President Donald Trump may announce an American troop drawdown from Afghanistan before the year’s end, which would likely begin next year.
Graham, speaking from the Afghan capital of Kabul, said the president could reduce troop numbers to 8,600, down from the current estimated 12,000.
