In one corner of Afghanistan, America is beating Islamic State

Michael Phillips in The Wall Street Journal

In a lengthy report for The Wall Street Journal, Michael Phillips writes that despite being overshadowed by high-profile battles in Syria and Iraq, “Afghan and U.S. special-operations troops this year have pushed back Islamic State in a monthslong offense.”

This progress against ISIS in the Achin region contrasts with the fight elsewhere in Afghanistan, Phillips reports. In other parts of the country, “the Taliban and other insurgent groups . . . live among civilians and are difficult to target.” American military personnel “estimate as many as 1,500 Islamic State fighters remain in Afghanistan, including areas along the Pakistan border that militants claim for their caliphate,” Phillips writes.

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