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Asia & Pacific

s l a m i c S t a t e r a d i o s t a t i o n t a k e n o u t i n s u s p e c t e d U . S . s t r i k

n A f g h a n i s t a n

By Sayed Salahuddin and Tim Craig February 2

KABUL An Islamic State radio station that had become a symbol of the groups reach into relatively lawless areas of

eastern Afghanistan was leveled Monday evening by a suspected U.S. airstrike, according to officials in Afghanistans

Nangahar province.

At the time, the station was in the middle of one of its nightly transmissions warning residents to show support for the Islami

State or else be killed.

It happened as the radio was broadcasting live, said Hazart Hussain Mashrigiwal, a spokesman for the local police force.

The transmission just stopped operating, and we believe the airstrike was conducted by a drone.

According to Mashrigiwal, three Islamic State radio technicians were found in the rubble. Ahmad Ali Hazrat, head of the

Nangahar provincial council, said at least five Islamic State technicians were killed.

n a statement, the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan declined to discuss specifics of the reported strike. But Col. Michael

Lawhorn, a spokesman for U.S forces in Afghanistan, said the military had conducted two counterterrorism strikes inNangahars Achin district late Monday, according to the Associated Press.

For operational security reasons, we cannot discuss details of the counterterrorism operations, Lawhorn said.

When the station, dubbed Caliphate Radio by its operators, launched in December, it prompted fear throughout Afghanist

as well as Pakistans border region, where it also could be heard. Militants were now able to communicate directly with

potential recruits and issue public threats to dissenters.

Afghan military leaders initially said they couldnt determine the origin of the radio broadcasts. That heightened concern

among Afghans and Western analysts about Afghan forces ability to conduct even basic intelligence operations to halt the

slamic States advance.

Now, however, the U.S. military appears to be stepping up its role in efforts to prevent the Islamic State from gaining a

oothold in Afghanistan, as the group did in Syria and Iraq and where it went on to create havens.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacifichttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-new-islamic-state-radio-station-spreads-panic-in-eastern-afghanistan/2015/12/21/f41ecf96-a75c-11e5-b596-113f59ee069a_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/people/tim-craighttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific

7/25/2019 Islamic State Radio Station Taken Out in Suspected U.S

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Last month, the State Department named the Islamic States Khorasan branch the groups chapter in Afghanistan and

Pakistan a terrorist organization and imposed sanctions on its leaders. President Obama also gave the Pentagon wider

atitude to take offensive action against the militant fighters in Afghanistan, according to media reports.

n an interviewpublished by the New York Times on Sunday, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, deputy chief of staff for U.S.

military operations in Afghanistan, said the Pentagon now has the ability to take the gloves off.

Still, some Afghan analysts worry that the airstrikes will not deal a lasting blow to the Islamic State in Afghanistan.

The group is made up of former members of the Pakistani Taliban, at least some of whom continue to travel back and forth

across the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Taking out a radio station is the easy part, said Bashir Bezhen, a Kabul-base

political analyst.

We need to come up with a strategy to wipe out this threat once and for all, he said, adding that the Islamic State is still a

novice stage in Afghanistan.

Other analysts noted that the dismantling of the radio broadcast may be relatively short-lived, given the Islamic States histo

of improvising. But several listeners from western Pakistans tribal belt confirmed that they couldnt pick up the broadcast

Tuesday evening.

Craig reported from Dubai. Mohammad Sharif in Kabul contributed to this report.

Read more:

The Islamic State is making these Afghans long for the Taliban

Meet the shadowy figure recruiting for the Islamic State in Afghanistan

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Tim Craig is The Posts bureau chief in Pakistan. He has also covered conflicts in Iraq,

Afghanistan and within the District of Columbia government.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/worldhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/01/13/meet-the-shadowy-figure-recruiting-for-the-islamic-state-in-afghanistan/?tid=a_inlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-new-age-of-brutality-how-islamic-state-rose-up-in-one-afghan-province/2015/10/13/a6dbed67-717b-41e3-87a5-01c81384f34c_story.html?tid=a_inlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/us/politics/us-broadens-fight-against-isis-with-attacks-in-afghanistan.html