ISIL Emissaries Increased Activity in Afghanistan Causing Concern

Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said that only a joint effort by all countries concerned could boost security in Afghanistan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Increasing activity by Islamic State (ISIL) emissaries in Afghanistan calls for particular concern, Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said Thursday.

"The increasing activity by so-called Islamic State emissaries in Afghanistan raises particular concern. The events in Syria have shown that without taking timely collective measures and decisions, the fight against extremism demands much more effort and is accompanied with the loss of thousands of human lives," Shoigu said in a written address to an international conference on Afghanistan.

The Russian defense chief stressed that only a joint effort by all countries concerned could boost security in the region. He suggested that member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes Afghanistan as an observer state, could together improve the situation in the country.

Russia’s General Staff asserts that the ISIL presence in Afghanistan is increasing to stand currently at 2,000 to 3,000 militants. Terror attacks on the Afghan territory have killed over 3,500 people and wounded some 7,000 since the start of the year.