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US Defense Secretary Warns More Operations Against IS group

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Last Updated on: October 24, 2022

bn-ps408_usruss_j_20160907072900A month long U.S. air campaign against the Islamic State in Libya has helped back the group into “a single neighborhood” in its coastal stronghold of Sirte, where an ongoing offensive seeks to dislodge the militants from their strategic foothold, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday.

Addressing an audience at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, Carter said, the campaign in Libya, along with intensified operations in Iraq and Syria, is a step in delivering a “lasting defeat” to the group.

“They are still a dangerous adversary, and a lasting defeat will take time, but we will not let up until ISIL is defeated,” said Carter, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has warned more operations are coming against the Islamic State (IS) group.

“We’ve also seen results where we’ve been countering ISIL’s metastasis.  Working alongside our Afghan partners, U.S. forces have conducted two large operations against ISIL in Afghanistan, dealing the organization severe blows including killing its top leader there, degrading its infrastructure, logistics bases and training, and more operations are coming.” Carter said.

Carter said the U.S. and the U.K. are leading a historic coalition to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat. We’re fighting in different ways, across all domains, to destroy both the fact and the idea of an Islamic state based on ISIL’s barbaric ideology.

“As I speak to you today,” the secretary said, “we’ve entered a decisive phase in our coalition counter-ISIL military campaign. Thanks to the contributions and sacrifices of our local partners there in the region and of British, American and coalition service members, we’ve accelerated the military campaign and we have the momentum firmly on our side.”

He added, “We’re seeking this year to put ISIL on a path to the lasting defeat it will surely suffer and richly deserves.”

Carter said a lasting defeat requires that the coalition identify and enable capable, motivated local forces, and that is the strategic approach because local forces are the only ones that can hold and govern territory after it has been retaken from ISIL.

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Afghanistan lodges complaint with UN over Pakistani airstrikes

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Afghanistan’s acting representative to the United Nations has formally raised concerns at the UN Security Council following overnight airstrikes this week it says were carried out by Pakistan inside Afghan territory.

Nasir Ahmad Faiq, acting chargé d’affaires of Afghanistan’s mission to the UN, announced on Monday that a formal complaint had been submitted regarding the strikes, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.

In a statement posted on X, Faiq called for “the immediate cessation of such actions, a thorough and impartial review, full respect for Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, and strict adherence to the Charter of the United Nations and international law.”

According to Afghan officials, the strikes took place late Saturday night in eastern Nangarhar and south-eastern Paktika provinces.

Authorities say dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed or wounded when residential areas were hit.

Islamabad has previously maintained that it reserves the right to act against militant groups it says operate near or along the disputed Durand Line. Afghan officials, however, have consistently rejected allegations that Afghan territory is being used to launch attacks against Pakistan.

The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions between Kabul and Islamabad over security concerns and cross-Durand Line militancy, further complicating already fragile bilateral relations.

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US companies are welcome to join TAPI project: Turkmenistan’s ex-president

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In an interview with Al Arabiya, former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said international companies, including United States firms, are welcome to join the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

Berdymukhamedov noted that while the project enjoys U.S. support, it will need to navigate longstanding regional tensions, as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have seen outbreaks of deadly fighting over the past year.

“This project, which enjoys international support, including from the United States, possesses immense potential in meeting the growing energy needs of South Asian nations. It also opens promising avenues for accessing the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Near East, and the Middle East,” he said.

 “The TAPI project is also of paramount importance for political stability and economic prosperity, maintaining high investment attractiveness,” Berdymukhamedov added.

Turkmenistan plans to complete the first section of the pipeline, reaching the Afghan city of Herat, by the end of 2026. No plans have yet been announced to extend the project further south.

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UK’s Reform party pledges visa ban affecting Afghanistan and five other states

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The British political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is set to impose a blanket visa ban on Afghanistan and five other countries — including Pakistan — as part of its proposed crackdown on illegal migration and states refusing to accept deported nationals.

In a speech set for Monday, the party’s newly appointed “shadow” home secretary, Zia Yusuf, will outline plans to halt all visas for diplomats, students, workers, VIPs and tourists from Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Reform says these governments fail to cooperate in accepting back deported migrants and convicted criminals.

Pakistan received more than 160,000 UK visas last year, making it one of the biggest visa recipients. However, British officials say Islamabad accepts back only a small fraction of rejected asylum seekers and has resisted pressure to take back individuals convicted in high-profile criminal cases.

The move – which mirrors US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries – would be a key element in Reform’s strategy to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants from the UK on five charter flights a day.

On legal migration, Yusuf will say a Reform government would terminate all welfare payments to foreign nationals, including the 1.3 million currently receiving UC, up from around 900,000 in 2022.

Yusuf is expected to say that years of weak immigration enforcement have undermined public trust and that a Reform government would secure Britain’s borders and make people feel safe.

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