The Islamic State terrorist organization outlawed in Russia has managed to recruit some formations of the Taliban Islamic movement in Afghanistan into its ranks, Head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Department Igor Korobov said on Wednesday.
“The availability of considerable funds facilitates the strengthening of the positions of the ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State]. Using this resource and also the image of the most successful Islamic grouping in the world created not without the participation of media outlets, ISIL leaders have been able to recruit some formations of the Taliban Islamic movement into their ranks,” the general said at the international security conference in Moscow.
According to the Russian general, the funds are coming mostly from their controlled territories in Iraq and Syria and from foreign sponsors, including from Persian Gulf countries and through the unlawful activity on the territory of Afghanistan.