Press TV / January 1, 2016

At least 14 militants affiliated with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group have been killed in airstrikes carried out by Afghanistan’s air force in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a Friday statement that the air raids pounded the terrorists’ hideouts in the restive Achin district of Nangarhar.

At least 12 militants were also wounded and numerous weapons, ammunition and explosives were destroyed during the raids, according to the statement.

Nangarhar has been witnessing a surge in the presence of Daesh terrorists in recent months.

The terrorists, mainly operating in Iraq and Syria, have reportedly been recruiting militants in Afghanistan over the past months in what is believed to be aimed at establishing sanctuaries in areas traditionally seen as the strongholds of Taliban militants.

In June 2015, the Taliban warned Daesh ringleader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, against “waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan.” The militant group asked the Daesh leader to keep his men out of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been the scene of violence since 2001 when the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror, which also saw the removal of the Taliban from power.