UN warns Islamic State on the rise in Afghanistan

The UN Security Council extends sanctions against the Taliban for 18 months in a resolution that warns of the increasing presence and potential growth of Islamic State affiliates in Afghanistan.

The council expresses serious concern about “the ongoing violent and terrorist activities” by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other violent extremist groups in Afghanistan. The resolution is passed unanimously.

Nicholas Haysom, the UN envoy for Afghanistan, tells the council that the country is grappling with an intensified conflict “with much reduced international military support” but has made it through the first year of political transition — “an achievement in itself.”

Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal says the country “will not be defeated by extremist elements.”

— AP