A new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) warns that Islamic extremist groups like Daesh are on the rise in the Central Asian country, and that if former Taliban fighters aren't helped with reintegration into society, they could soon flood the ranks of Daesh.
The US watchdog's Thursday report warns that the estimated 150,000 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan cannot remain exorcised from Afghan government and civil society after a peace deal is reached between the US and the militant group. If they do, the risk is high that they will join the ranks of even more dangerous groups.
“If ex-combatants are not accepted by their communities or are unable to find a new livelihood, they may be vulnerable to recruitment by criminal groups or terrorist organizations like the Islamic State,” the report notes.
Daesh, an extremist group which grew out of an anti-US Iraqi cleric's following in 2008 during the US occupation of that country, has mostly seen its activities confined to Syria and Iraq, but in recent years has sought to expand its network into Central Asia as well as western Africa. However, relationships with other Muslim militant groups, including the Taliban, are rarely peaceful, and just as Daesh found itself opposed by al-Qaeda-aligned militas in Syria, so has it entered bloody conflict with the Taliban wherever the two meet.
At a press conference late last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called attention to…
