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Russian defense minister claims over 20 radical groups present in Afghanistan; IEA denies
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has claimed that there are more than 20 different extremist groups with about 15,000 members in Afghanistan that pose a threat to Central Asia.
Belousov said this at a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
He warned that there was a possibility of these groups infiltrating the territory of neighboring countries and beyond.
In particular, foreign fighters from armed groups active in the Middle East are moving to Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries, the Russian defense minister said.
Russian officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the presence of militants in Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate, however, considers these concerns unfounded.
“There are no arbitrary groups in Afghanistan and no one is threatened,” Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said X Wednesday. “The idea of 20 groups in Afghanistan was created during the American occupation and had an intelligence purpose. No one should worry about facing threat from Afghanistan.”