The Islamic State jihadist group is unable to make significant inroads in Afghanistan and its fighters are contained in a small part of the country, a US general said Thursday.
The Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- named a year ago by the group's leadership -- has stepped up its offensive in the east of the country in recent months.
However, the group, which is also called ISL or Daesh, "is primarily contained to one district out of 404 district within the entire country," said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, spokesman for the US-led military operations in Afghanistan.
That district is in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, Shoffner told reporters in Washington via telephone.
Last year, the military officials estimated that there were between 1,000 and 3,000 IS fighters operating in six or seven districts of Nangarhar.
But now the number of fighters is "probably on the lower end of that," he said.
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