Ariana: In a meeting with senior military officials, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called Afghanistan the “biggest threat” to the countries of Central Asia and said that the situation in Central Asia is still complicated. He said in the last year, the number of Daesh fighters in Afghanistan has increased by 15 percent. Shoigu added that Daesh seeks to spread extremist ideas in Central Asia and tries to carry out subversive activities along the southern borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and it must be stopped.  About two weeks ago, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev claimed that there are at least 20 terrorist organizations and more than 23,000 fighters in Afghanistan and that the United States is responsible for the current difficult situation in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).