Afghanistan security forces arrest nine militants in Nangarhar

Security forces in Afghanistan have detained nine militants in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the militants were arrested on a highway linking the capital, Kabul, to the city of Jalalabad in the east.

It did not specify the exact date of the arrests, but said the militants were involved in various forms of terrorist activities such as planting landmines and assassinating prominent figures.

The detainees were also planning to attack military and civilian vehicles, the statement read, adding that a rocket launcher, a machine gun, four Kalashnikov assault rifles, six pistols, three hand grenades, two anti-tank landmines and a wireless transmitter were seized from them.

Nangarhar has been witnessing a surge in the presence of Takfiri Daesh terrorists in recent months.

Children for terrorism

The terrorists, mainly operating in Iraq and Syria, have reportedly been recruiting militants in Afghanistan over the past months in what is believed to be aimed at establishing sanctuaries in areas traditionally seen as Taliban strongholds.

Referring to a separate security operation in Jalalabad, the NDS statement said 11 children planned to be sent to Pakistan by militants for terrorist training, were also captured.

The children had been brought to Jalalabad from the eastern province of Kunar under the pretext of doing religious studies, according to the statement. They were later returned to their families.

Afghanistan is rife with insecurity years after the US and its NATO allies invaded the Asian country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

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