ISIS activity in Afghanistan on the increase, says Russia’s UN envoy

ISIS has always been a big concern for Russia, just as they have been a concern for most of the civilized (and reality based) world. Russian concern and desire to eliminate this group is strong because they operate only a few hundred miles from Russian territory now. So as the activity of the group ramps up in Afghanistan, despite the American presence in the region, the concern grows.

Afghanistan is one of the most difficult places for an invader to take. No invader in recorded history has ever held the entire territory at the same time. It is mountainous, landlocked and it has a severe range of climate conditions. But it is also extremely strategic in its location. From a geopolitical perspective, control of Afghanistan all but guarantees control of southern Asia as a whole, and it provides a passage into Central Asia. Russia has lands and allies in this region, and ISIS is regarded as a bitter enemy since they have attacked Russia a number of times.

Vasily Nebenzya is the Russian envoy to the United Nations, and TASS reported that he addressed the UN Security Council and said the following:

The security situation in Afghanistan still causes our serious concern… The fact that the situation in this area remains difficult was confirmed by a UN Security Council mission in Kabul. Unfortunately, the country was rocked by a series of bloody terrorist attacks in late January, which claimed the lives of more than 200 civilians and left over 400 Afghanis injured.”

“A serious factor in the deteriorating situation remains the activity of the Islamic State… Jihadists consistently boost the number of militants in the north of the country and turn it into the outpost for advancing to other regions, including Central Asia.”

“Our special concern is the Islamic State’s move to create an impressive network of camps to train militants, where people from Central Asian states and Russia are among those trained.”

Nebenzya called for immediate and thorough investigation and stoppage of deliveries of weapons by the caseload, conducted by helicopters flying without identification marks. It is not known who is supplying these fighters with weapons, but someone is.