Iran official:

Certain countries shipping terrorists to Afghanistan

A senior Iranian official says certain regional countries seek to transfer terrorists from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan.

News ID: 429146

Date: 23 April 2017 - 23:38

RNA - Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani made the remarks in a phone conversation with Hanif Atmar, national security adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

The countries are after “destabilizing Afghanistan and weakening its security and law enforcement structure to prepare the ground to transfer the terrorists, who have been routed in Iraq and Syria, to the [Central Asian] country,” Shamkhani said.

About 10 Taliban militants, dressed in Afghan army uniforms and driving military vehicles, infiltrated a military base in the northern Afghanistan Balkh Province on Friday, opening fire on mostly unarmed soldiers and killing scores of them.

The Iranian official condemned the attack and condoled with the Afghan government and people, saying the Islamic Republic was prepared to deliver all sorts of assistance to those affected by the terror strike.

Expediting bilateral intelligence and security cooperation, something which has been earnestly endeavored towards by the countries’ respective national security organizations, will reinforce both sides’ security and stability, he stated.

The Takfiri terror group of Daesh has been maintaining a significant presence in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, seizing on the country's security vacuums. The group is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, where it has lost territories under its control since the onset in 2014.

Atmar, for his part, expressed Kabul’s gratitude to Tehran as he laid emphasis on continued consultation and cooperation between the two nations towards eradicating terrorism in the region and all adverse circumstances leading to insecurity and instability.

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