Afghan Special Forces enabled by US counter-terrorism forces have reduced the number of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan by 25 percent since late July, Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the Resolute Support mission and US Forces Afghanistan, said Friday. Twelve top leaders, including emir Hafiz Sayed Khan, have been killed during that same period, Nicholson told reporters during a press briefing at the Pentagon. Between 1,200 and 1,300 fighters are believed to still make up the group that is concentrated in the Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan though it has direct links—advisory and financial—to the parent group in Iraq and Syria, Nicholson said.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.