IS gaining clout in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy FM says

The Islamic State (IS) militant group has been strengthening its position in Afghanistan since the end of 2015 and now there are about 6,000 IS militants there, the Russian deputy foreign minister has said.

Supporters of the organization had been found in 25 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in an interview with Kazakh newspaper "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" published on Thursday.

Among these fighters were citizens from countries in Central Asia and the North Caucasus, such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and North Caucasian republics of Russia, said Karasin.

He disagreed with those who said that the threat from Afghanistan was allegedly often exaggerated.

Karasin also said that the Taliban continued to strengthen its position in the region, and that the Taliban had even captured the provincial capital city of Kunduz for a few days in late December.

Many militants were found on Afghanistan's borders with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, he said.

The Russian official stressed that the aggravation of terrorist challenges requires additional anti-terrorism measures, particularly in the framework of international and regional organizations, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Effectively fighting terrorism is impossible without cutting off financing channels of terrorism, as required by United Nations Security Council resolutions, he added. Endi