MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post-Soviet security bloc, has not ruled out that terrorists could flee to the neighboring former Soviet states from Afghanistan where militants have been gaining ground.
"The situation in Afghanistan has become an important factor negatively affecting Central Asia. Al Qaeda and various ethnic terrorist groups, including those represented by natives of Central Asian countries and Russia’s North Caucasus, have strengthened in the country," the CSTO said in its report.
The power crisis is growing in Afghanistan, mostly in its northern part, and the conflict between the key local actors is increasing, the organization said. International terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia), have penetrated Afghanistan. "In this situation, it cannot be ruled out that militant groups from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan may intrude the neighboring post-Soviet countries," the document said.
According to the CSTO, last year 22% of the world’s terrorist attacks occurred in Afghanistan, and as of today the figure has soared to 30%. Terrorist activity of the IS group in Afghanistan grew by one third this year compared with 2016.
Last year, 249 terrorist attacks occurred in 29 countries, and the most affected countries were Afghanistan (30 attacks), Iraq (20 attacks) and Turkey (18 attacks), the organization said.