UN chief says IS remains resilient in Afghanistan

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) extremist group remains resilient in Afghanistan despite “a high pace” of operations against it by government and international forces.

The UN chief said in a report to the Security Council circulated on Monday that between mid-June and early September, 183 incidents were attributed to IS fighters – nearly double the 93 incidents during the same period in 2018.

Guterres’ report was written before US President Donald Trump abruptly ended a nearly year-long effort to reach a political settlement with the Taliban on Saturday.

Guterres says the US-Taliban talks, a dialogue between Afghan parties in Qatar, and strengthened efforts “to build a regional consensus on peace have given rise to cautious optimism that a formal peace process may soon begin.”