DEH BALA: US and Afghan Special Forces are completing an operation to clear fighters of the militant Islamic State group from a remote district in Nangarhar, the eastern province where they have their main stronghold in Afghanistan, officials said.
The operation in Deh Bala, on the border with Pakistan, began at the end of April and was largely complete in early June but final mine clearance operations are still under way, said Lt. Col. Josh Thiel, from the US First Special Forces Group.
“This was one of the main green zones that did two things. One, it provided money, finance, logistics to ISIS (Islamic State) and we’ve taken that away from them,” he said.
“Additionally, ISIS was using this as a site to prepare and move high-profile attacks on Kabul and Jalalabad.”
The operation, involving three companies of Afghan commandos supported by US air strikes and American Special Forces teams, began with troops arriving by helicopter and setting up an operations base near the village of Gargari, where the IS fighters were trying to establish a local capital.
Several days of heavy fighting ended in early June with 167 IS fighters killed and large quantities of equipment captured.
The fight against IS and other militant groups including Al Qaeda is at the heart of the US counter-terrorism mission being conducted alongside the Nato-led Resolute Support operation that trains and advises Afghan security forces.