Sputnik, March 25, 2018


Moscow Concerned Over Unmarked Helicopters Transferring Militants in Afghanistan

Earlier this year, Chief of Iranian General Staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri accused the US of transferring Daesh terrorists to Afghanistan after the jihadist group's defeats in Syria and Iraq

Moscow is concerned about the use of helicopters without identification marks for transportation of militants and weapons, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday ahead of the conference on Afghanistan.

"The use of helicopters without identification marks in various regions of Afghanistan with an aim to transport militants and weapons produced in the Western countries to the Afghan affiliate [of the Islamic State terrorist group*] raises concern. We believe the statements of Afghan authorities confirming these facts urge serious investigation," the statement read.

"[Russia] is concerned about the increase of terrorist activity of Taliban movement staging attacks in various parts of Afghanistan and the increase of IS presence in northern Afghan provinces bordering the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)," the ministry stressed.

On Monday, a two-day conference dedicated to the situation in Afghanistan will kick off in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent with the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Earlier this year, Chief of Iranian General Staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri accused the US of transferring Daesh terrorists to Afghanistan after the jihadist group's defeats in Syria and Iraq.

The same month, Damascus said that US air power had been used on numerous occasions to rescue terrorist leaders from their imminent destruction at the hands of the Syrian army and even to stage 'accidental' attacks on Syrian forces as they advanced against the militants.

The US-coalition, however, has denied all accusations.

Over the years, Afghanistan has been facing an unstable political and humanitarian situation, which had worsened due to the activities of terrorist groups such as the Taliban and Daesh*.

*Islamic State terrorist organization, also known as Daesh (in Arabic), IS, ISIL or ISIS. It is outlawed in Russia, the United States and many other countries.

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