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US secretary of state stresses on defeating IS group in Afghanistan, world
Following an attack on Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport believed to have been orchestrated by the Islamic State, Secretary of State John Kerry asserted that the attack proved the group was “desperate” and “know [they] are losing.”
Kerry spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival late Tuesday and asserted that the Islamic State did have the capacity to commit bombings, sieges, and other large-scale terrorist attacks, but argued nonetheless that the group is desperate.
He stressed that defeating the Daesh group in Afghanistan and the world is an essential need.
“It has been more than one year since Daesh has actually launched a full scale military offensive, and that’s because our coalition is moving relentlessly on every front,” he said; “…if you’re desperate and if you know you are losing, and you know you want to give up your life, then obviously you can do some harm.” He argued that successfully executing a terrorist attack requires terrorists to “get it right for ten minutes or one hour,” a minimal amount of time that does not take preparation into account.
Kerry’s opinion of the Islamic State has fluctuated dramatically over the years. In 2014, Kerry described ISIS as “one of the most dangerous groups that I have seen in my time in public life” and warned that the threat was international.
Kerry described government officials as unsurprised following the November 2015 attack on multiple targets in Paris, France.
“They have gained great expertise, over a period of time, and they have some people in ISIS who have been fighting in the terror network for a period of time,” he said. “So, they have access to c-4. They have access to explosives. Everybody knows that. They’re making IEDs every single day.”
“Any individual who wants to strap a suicide vest around them, can walk into any public event, in most places in the world, and blow him or herself up, and destroy people with them,” he added at the time.
Kerry has also declared ISIS to be, “in my judgment,” capable of committing and guilty of genocide.
These statement stand in stark contrast to both Kerry’s remarks Tuesday and the White House’s stance that the Islamic State is a diminished threat.
In May, President Obama asserted he did not “think we’re losing” to ISIS. Shortly after the Paris attacks, President Obama asserted of ISIS, “we have contained them.”
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
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