OSINT SUMMARY
U.S. and Afghan forces conducted an operation against Islamic State militant’s targets killing more than 30 of its fighters in eastern Afghanistan.
The joint operation also saw the militant’s communication links to Syria and Iraq being destroyed in a well-orchestrated multi-day assault.
The force raids took place in a number of locations in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, an area where Islamic State extremists have recently expanded their insurgency despite Afghan security forces efforts to counter them.
The governor of Achin district in the province, Haji Ghalib, confirmed to the media that the US-Afghan joint operations have been on for two days.
“U.S. forces conducted four strikes during operations in Achin district, Nangarhar province, on November 4, against individuals threatening the force,” he said in a statement.
According to Ghalib and a local military commander dozens of the Islamic State militants were killed in the joint assault.
The strikes targeted militant’s communications equipment which included satellite phones and Internet connections that were being used to communicate with Islamic State members in Syria and Iraq, he added. Notably was the communication satellite dishes set at the hilltop believed to be giving information directly from the area to their leaders were also crashed down.
In the recent months, insurgency uptick has been witnessed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province where the militants have launched multiple attacks on Afghan security checkpoints.
Intelligence reports indicate there are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Islamic State militants in Afghanistan.
