KABUL, Afghanistan — Foreign militants fighting under the black flag of ISIS are conquering territory in northern Afghanistan, terrorizing residents and outmatching the Taliban's brutality, villagers and local officials told NBC News.
The development suggests ISIS is expanding its sphere of influence beyond the Middle East and North Africa, and are moving into areas previously controlled by the Afghan Taliban.
Most of the fighters hail from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Caucuses — and are even more brutal than the Afghan Taliban, according to local lawmakers, police and residents interviewed by NBC News.
Mullah Abdul Rasheed said his uncle, a village elder, was shot dead by foreign militants while he prayed in a mosque. Two of his cousins in the police force were also killed in a firefight with the militiamen, he said.
"That created an atmosphere of terror in the village and we had to flee our homes and leave everything behind," the 37-year-old told NBC News on the telephone.
Rasheed, who lived in Mirshadi, in the northern Faryab Province, said the Taliban rarely used to bother villagers except to collect a 10 percent tax of their crops.
"All that changed in the past year when foreign militants, especially Uzbeks, arrived in the area and pushed out the local police," said Rasheed.
Read more:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/atmosphere-terror-isis-linked-fighters-tighten-grip-afghanistan-n347801
