Foreign militants penetrate into Afghanistan's Badakhshan province: Official

An unknown number of foreign militants apparently affiliated to the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group has penetrated into northern Badakhshan province, a local official said Wednesday.

"Numerous of foreign militants including Kazakhs, Tajik, Uzbeks, Uyghur, obviously affiliated to the Islamic State have penetrated to Badakhshan and settled in parts of Wardoj, Yamgan and Khostak valley of Jarm districts over the past several months," governor of WArdoj district Dawlat Khan Khawari told Xinhua.

Some of the foreign militants have also taken their families to the said districts, the official added.

Although, the foreign fighters have not hoisted the IS flag, the "intelligence reports suggest they are Daesh (Islamic State) fighters," Khawari asserted.

Similarly, spokesman for Badakhshan police Masoud Arshad, in talks with Xinhua, confirmed the presence of foreign insurgents in the relatively troubled province but added "no activities to prove IS presence" has been reported.

Badakhshan has been the scene of Taliban-led insurgency over the past couple of years and this is the first time that officials report the obvious presence of IS loyalists in the mountainous province bordering Tajikistan, Pakistan and China.

Meanwhile, Zia Din, an elder from Wardoj district, when approached by Xinhua, attested the presence of foreign militants and contended that foreign fighters besides creating law and order problems have also been forcing the locals to provide food to them.

He also noted that the elders for several times had asked the provincial governor to take steps against the foreign insurgents but no tangible action has been taken. Endit