The State Department on Thursday designated the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State, a splinter group mostly made up of former Afghan and Pakistani Taliban members, as a foreign terrorist organization.
The designation allows the government to impose economic sanctions on members of the group and those who do business with them. It also allows United States military operations against them in Afghanistan to fall under the official counterterrorism mission agreed to by the Afghan government. The designation comes as increased American involvement in combat there has drawn concern about outstripping the military’s legal mandate
Strategic Perspectives Through Research and Dialogue
