Captured Militants Displayed as Afghan Authorities Say Islamic State Cleared From Nangarhar

The Afghan government says it has cleared Nangarhar province of Islamic State fighters, allowing displaced villagers to return home. However, video by Radio Free Europe shows how villagers were met with ruined buildings and destroyed crops.

Afghan officials paraded captured militants before the media in November, RFE said, in a report released on December 17 that carried images of the captives.

The province’s governor, Shah Mahmood Miakhel, told RFE that captured fighters came from a multitude of countries. “First, we will gather information from them to find out more about their links, how they came here, and what they’ve done,” he said. “Eventually, our judicial system will decide their fate, and if it’s necessary, we will prosecute them.”

Islamic State militants declared the province to be part of their caliphate in early 2015. One captured fighter who spoke to RFE said that “religious scholars asked us to join the Islamic caliphate. They taught us enough [words of the prophet Muhammad and words from the Koran] that we believed it was our duty to obey orders.” Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful