Afghan Military Says 229 IS Militants, Family Members Surrendered To Government Forces

Afghan Military Says 229 IS Militants, Family Members Surrendered to Government Forces

A total of 229 Islamic State (IS, a terror group banned in Russia) militants and their family members have surrendered to the Afghan forces in the eastern Nangarhar province over the past 24 hours, the Afghan National Defense Ministry said on Friday

KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) A total of 229 Islamic State (IS, a terror group banned in Russia) militants and their family members have surrendered to the Afghan forces in the eastern Nangarhar province over the past 24 hours, the Afghan National Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The militants laid their arms on Thursday. Among those surrendered are 82 men, 51 women and 96 children, according to the statement.

The ministry specified that 542 IS militants had surrendered to the government forces over the past two weeks.

On Sunday, acting Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi announced that the IS group had been defeated in the country, pledging that remaining small cells would be eliminated. The Afghan military has since started regularly reporting about IS militants surrendering as a result of counterterrorism operations in Nangarhar.