Taliban ‘crush’ Daesh/ISIS with US 'limited support'

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Taliban crushed the Daesh/ISIS terror group in eastern Afghanistan with "limited support" from Washington, according to a U.S. general Tuesday.

U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Frank McKenzie told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee that the Taliban's operations against the terror group were effective.

"Over the last several months in eastern Afghanistan, we have watched the Taliban compress and crush ISIS presence on the ground in southern Nangarhar province, and they’ve been very effective doing that," said McKenzie. "They've been very effective ... that's some of the worst terrain in the world. There was very limited support from us.”

His remarks came a day after U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) began its conditions-based reduction of forces in that country.

USFOR-A spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said Monday the reduction of troops is in line with the U.S.-Afghanistan joint declaration and a U.S.-Taliban agreement.

The U.S. and Taliban inked a landmark peace deal late last month laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal.

The U.S. is scheduled to reduce its number of troops in Afghanistan to 8,600 within 135 days and complete withdrawal within 14 months in line with the agreement.