Pro Daesh radio station targets Afghan youth
Date
12/23/2015 5:00:37 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) A pro-Daesh radio station has recently begun broadcasting in the Afghan city of Jalalabad urging Afghan youth to join the group’s global "jihad".
For over one week "Caliphate Radio" has been broadcasting militant propaganda calling on the city’s youth to "spread the message of Islam across the entire region".
Pro-Daesh broadcasts preach the notion of the "Khorasan Vilayat" a region historically incorporating parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pro-Daesh rebels first emerged in Afghanistan in the southern Helmand province where a number of Taliban defectors -- under the leadership of Hafiz Saeed Khan -- pledged allegiance to the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) now more commonly known by its Arabic acronym "Daesh".
After Saeed’s death in a joint operation carried out by Afghan and U.S. military forces the group’s support base moved to Afghanistan’s eastern Jalalabad province adjacent to the tribal belt with Pakistan.
Daesh militants -- comprised mainly of Pakistani Uzbek and home-grown fighters -- have effectively driven the local Taliban (those loyal to Mullah Akhtar Mansour) from Nangar’s mountainous regions particularly those areas associated with the Shinwari tribe.
According to locals the emergence of "Caliphate Radio" has stoked fears among residents with Jalalabad’s once crowded bazaars now standing almost empty.
The militants broadcast their propaganda in the local Pashto language with jihadi audio clips in Arabic frequently playing in the background.
The provincial government for its part appears unable to stop the broadcasts.
According to the Afgan Telecommunications Ministry the radio station operates from a mobile studio that frequently moves around the province.
Despite the advent of the internet and satellite television radio remains a powerful tool for communication in most parts of Afghanistan especially in more remote areas.
Regarding Daesh’s growing influence in Afghanistan Gen. John Campbell U.S. commander of international forces said last week that the group had succeeded in drawing increasing numbers of militants in the country’s east.
During a surprise visit to Jalalabad on Saturday U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said: "As groups like ISIL [an alternative acronym for Daesh] emerge on the battlefield… we must be prepared to deter their growth and counter the threats they pose."
Flanked by Afghan Defense Minister Masoum Stanikzai Carter added: "They can never have a secure base here in Nangarhar or anywhere else in Afghanistan".
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