US says it will intensify fight against ISiS in Afghanistan
None
BRUSSELS - The US will intensify combat against the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan during the Kabul government's temporary halt to attacks on the Taliban, senior US officials said Friday.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said this could, for example, allow the US to partially shift the focus of aerial surveillance from the Taliban to ISIS fighters as well as al-Qaeda extremists, who remain a threat 17 years after the US invaded.
Mattis spoke to reporters during a break in a NATO defense ministers meeting, which included a discussion of progress and problems in Afghanistan. The ministers also discussed more broadly the international campaign against ISIS, which has focused since 2014 on eliminating the group's so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
