Beyond toppling the Afghan government, the Islamic State affiliate and the Taliban have divergent goals, and where the Taliban are seen as possible negotiation partners in a search for peace, the IS is not. "The Taliban I see as 'national Islamists' while the IS is 'Internationalist,'" he said, dismissing reports of collaboration between the two insurgent groups, attributing them to rumors and bickering in northern Afghanistan within the Taliban. Ruttig said Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan recently flew the IS flag after the Taliban leadership ordered them to hand over their tax collection revenue to the governing Taliban shura or council. The success of the U.S. and its allies in driving Islamic State fighters out of Iraq and Syria has pushed many toward Afghanistan, said Williams. He said as many as 3,000 Afghan Uzbeks may have joined the IS affiliate already believed to have several thousand Uzbeks from central Asia.

Source: Fox News January 30, 2018 13:18 UTC