TASHKENT (TASS) — The global terrorist entity, the Islamic State (IS, ex ISIS or ISIL) seeks to create a foothold in Afghanistan for militants from Central Asia, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov said at the 47^th session of the Council of the Heads of Security Agencies and Intelligence Services of the CIS Member-States (SORB).

Alexander Bortnikov

The FSB chief reported that due to their looming defeat in Syria and Iraq, international terrorist organizations are hastily withdrawing their remaining forces beyond the Middle East and are creating new zones of instability in Asia and Africa, as well as creating a network of sleeper cells in Europe. In addition, these worldwide terror organizations encourage their followers to become “independent jihadis” in the countries they are exiting or entering, the FSB director noted.

The FSB director said:

We have recorded a surge in activity of ISIS units in Afghanistan, united in the so-called Wilayah Khorasan. Jamaat Ansarullah and the Turkistan Islamic Movement are closely cooperating with it. Their goal is to create a springboard to expand into CIS territory, with militants out of citizens of the Central Asian republics who have combat experience within international terrorist organizations as its main force.

He noted that Al-Qaeda also uses the potential of the Turkistan Islamic Movement (terrorist entity, banned in Russia) in Afghanistan to form combat and propaganda factions out of its members.