DUSHANBE, April 7, 2016, Asia-Plus – The so-called Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has been strengthening its positions in Afghanistan since late 2015 and there are some 6,000 IS militants fighting in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Grigory Karasin, was quoted as saying by Kazakhstankaya Pravda .

“According to some data, there are some 6000 IS militants currently fighting in Afghanistan. Supporters of this group have been revealed in 25 of 34 provinces of Afghanistan,” Karasin told  Kazakhstankaya Pravda in an interview.

According to him, there are residents of Central Asia and Northern Caucasus among the IS militants in Afghanistan.

“Taliban group is also continuing to strengthen its positions in the country,” said Russian diplomat.  “A concentration of militants has been registered along Afghanistan’s border with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.”

We will recall that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said in a statement on October 14, 2015 that up to 3,000 Islamic State militants are currently operating in Afghanistan

The CSTO Secretariat held a meeting on October 14 at the level of deputy security secretaries with participation of the Iranian Ambassador in Russia and a representative from the Chinese embassy in Moscow.  “The participants noted the presence of some 2,000-3,000 Islamic State militants in Afghanistan…and expressed concern over possible deterioration of the security situation on the border between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan," the statement said.