Afghan Special Forces enabled by US counter-terrorism forces have reduced the number of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan by 25 percent since late July, Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the Resolute Support mission and US Forces Afghanistan, said Friday. Twelve top leaders, including emir Hafiz Sayed Khan, have been killed during that same period, Nicholson told reporters during a press briefing at the Pentagon. Between 1,200 and 1,300 fighters are believed to still make up the group that is concentrated in the Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan though it has direct links—advisory and financial—to the parent group in Iraq and Syria, Nicholson said.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.