Washington: US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday said that US and Afghan forces have made a "major progress" in the fight against Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) in Afghanistan.
In a series of tweets, Khalilzad said that hundreds of ISIS-K fighters have surrendered and it is "real progress".
"As @realDonaldTrump said on Thanksgiving, there has been major progress against ISIS-K in #Afghanistan," the special envoy said.
Read more: 7 killed in car explosion in Kabul
"The recent campaign in Nangarhar is one example. Effective operations by US/Coalition and Afghan security forces, as well as the Taliban, led to ISIS-K losing territory and fighters. Hundreds surrendered. ISIS-K hasn't been eliminated but this is real progress," Khalilzad tweeted.
Earlier this month, First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko said there are up to 10,000 ISIS terrorists operating in Afghanistan, which contradicts the Pentagon's claims that the terror group only had a few thousand fighters in the country, according to media reports.
On November 28, US President Donald Trump, who made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and met American troops stationed at Bagram Airbase on Thanksgiving, told his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, that he has revived the peace talks with the Taliban.
His comments came less than three months after the US President dramatically halted negotiations with the group.
Also read: 5 killed as Taliban targets Afghan security service
