Afghans Sound Alarm Over Islamic State Recruitment -- Western Officials Skeptical of ‘Rumors’ Regarding Extremist Group’s Presence --- KABUL—Afghan security officials said Islamic State is beginning to seek a foothold here in an apparent effort to extend its reach at a time when foreign combat troops are leaving. -- Islamic State’s operations have been limited so far to parts of Iraq and Syria, although its recruitment efforts, including slick online videos and social media, have spread far and wide. -- Afghan officials said the extremist group now is testing the waters here, pointing to leaflets in the local Dari and Pashto languages emblazoned with the Islamic State logo that appeared in small numbers last month in Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad. -- In addition, local officials have expressed alarm over what they see as signs of an Islamic State presence or influence on Afghan soil. -- A security official in the central province of Ghazni who fought insurgents a week ago said he had seen an Islamic State flag raised in the village of Mohammad Khil. -- The bodies of two militants recovered at the scene were dressed in black uniforms with face masks “like Daesh,” the official said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym. -- U.S. and coalition officials have been skeptical. Afghan officials, they say, routinely play up threats in the provinces to ensure that international resources and funding keep flowing to the army and police. -- There are definitely al Qaeda and al Qaeda affiliates in Afghanistan, there’s no question about that,” James Cunningham, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said this month. But as for an Islamic State “label or presence,” he said, “as far as I know, those are rumors. I haven’t seen any firm reports or evidence of that.” -- Islamic State has been focused on establishing a caliphate in the Middle East, which doesn’t include Afghanistan, and isn’t known to be engaged in fighting outside Iraq and Syria. -- The pamphlets, seen by The Wall Street Journal, call for Afghans to join Islamic State as a broader front against the U.S. and its allies, including the Afghan government. -- “We are witnessing the final crusades between the Islamic world and the world of infidels, which includes the U.S., its allied forces and its apostate governments,” a leaflet states, referring to Muslim-majority countries aligned with Washington. -- “Islamic State isn’t in Afghanistan yet, but they are trying to establish links with terrorist groups in Afghanistan,” said Lt. Gen. Murad Ali Murad, commander of ground forces for the Afghan army. -- The Afghan government already faces a robust threat from the Taliban, who recognize Mullah Mohammad Omar as their spiritual leader rather than Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of Islamic State. The Taliban haven’t positioned themselves as a global movement, though they did provide a haven to al Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. -- The alleged overtures by Islamic State in Afghanistan come at a time of sharp divisions in the Sunni jihadist movement, highlighted by Mr. Baghdadi’s rise, which pits battle-hardened troops in Iraq and Syria against al Qaeda veterans. -- A senior Afghan security official said he believed the Islamic State pamphlets were authentic, and had been translated from Arabic and printed in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. -- Read More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/afghans-sound-alarm-over-islamic-state-recruitment-1413218858