UK Defense secretary Gavin Williamson says Daesh fighters in Afghanistan are communicating with cells in the UK with the aim of potentially carrying out attacks.

Williamson gave the government’s first confirmation the Afghan wing of the Islamist group known as IS-Khorasan or IS-K poses a direct threat to the UK.

This was the first time the British government has stated Daesh in Afghanistan not only poses a direct threat to the UK, but also threatens all the countries in the world.

“What we see is a real threat posed by these groups to the UK and we’ve got to be acting as we are to ensure that we do not see future Manchester-style attacks,” Mr Williamson said.

“We consistently see terrorist groups operating here in Afghanistan, [and] evidence of their links back not just to the United Kingdom but to the whole of continental Europe.”

This comes as UK Prime Minister committed to NATO’s capacity building mission in Afghanistan at the NATO Summit in July.

The extra troops are bolstering the UK-led Kabul Security Force (KSF), which provides protection for NATO civilian staff engaged in capacity-building programmes in Afghanistan, as well as mentoring Afghan forces in the capital.

The uplift in soldiers will make the UK the third largest contributor to the country with around 1,100 personnel.