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Story highlights A group of fighters in Afghanistan is filmed by a CNN cameraman parading ISIS flags U.S. official: ISIS militants have "no military capability" at present, but are trying to recruit disillusioned Taliban in several areas Rivalry between ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan is fierce enough to mean the ISIS fighters could be killed for brandishing the flag

A group of fighters in Afghanistan agreed to be filmed by a CNN cameraman parading their ISIS flags in a valley not far to the south of Kabul, the Afghan capital. They are the first images of their kind shot by western media inside Afghanistan.

The rise of ISIS is an issue that the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, has termed a "terrible threat."

U.S. officials CNN has spoken to have voiced their concern about the potential for an ISIS presence.

One U.S. military officer said the militants currently have limited capability but are trying to recruit disillusioned Taliban in several areas around the country's east and south.

"There has been some very small numbers of recruitment that has happened," Colonel J B Vowell, told CNN.

"You have disaffected Taliban who are losing politically and some of the younger, newer fighters are moving to that camp. It doesn't mean it's operationally better. We are concerned about it -- resources, weapons, capabilities. (But) I don't see an operational effect."

In the valley, the men display their weapons, and practice high kicks. They are a little breathless at altitude, a little clumsy. They are all masked, all in military-style uniforms. Our cameraman described how locals seemed to keep their distance from them.

It is often said that rivalry between the nascent ISIS presence and the Taliban, who remain the big guns in Afghanistan, is fierce enough to mean the ISIS fighters could be killed for brandishing the flag.

But it is fatigue with the Taliban that appears to have provided fertile ground for their rise. One of them told CNN: "We established contacts with IS (another acronym for the group) through a friend who is in Helmand (in southern Afghanistan).

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More on Afghanistan: ISIS recruits in Taliban lands

Promote, launched in October last year, aims to funnel $416m into supporting womens rights groups in the country and boosting womens role in national decision-making. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

A high-profile US aid scheme in Afghanistan, hailed as the largest ever womens empowerment programme, has come under criticism for lack of transparency and for failing to consult the women it is supposed to benefit. In another reproach of international aid efforts, an Amnesty International report released on Tuesday details how womens rights defenders, despite achieving significant gains over the past decade, are being abandoned by the international community.

The US aid scheme Promote, launched in October last year, aims to funnel $416m into programmes to strengthen womens rights groups and boost womens role in the economy and national decision-making. However, it is uncertain whether the 75,000 women expected to engage in the programme will actually receive any tangible benefit, says a US watchdog.

In a recent inquiry letter, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), which reports to the US Congress, raises concerns that USAid may not be able to effectively implement, monitor, and assess the impact of Promote.

The watchdog quotes Afghanistans first lady, Rula Ghani, warning against falling into a game of contracting and sub-contracting, generating a lot of paper certificates without real skill behind them.

Her husband, president Ashraf Ghani, has also previously criticised foreign aid delivery to Afghanistan, claiming that the majority of American aid returns to the US through contracting.

Womens activists have raised concerns similar to Sigars. I emphasised again and again that the programmes should be designed based on the needs of the women of Afghanistan, said Hasina Safi, executive director of the Afghan Womens Network.

Safi was appointed to an advisory committee for one of Promotes three contractors, Tetra Tech, Inc, which is responsible for training 25,000 participants in women leadership development. She said Promotes beneficiaries are selected too narrowly. Promote was only designed for literate women, while in Afghanistan there is a big majority of non-educated young women, Safi said. They need to have more confidence in the women of Afghanistan, that they really can design a programme based on their needs.

USAid said the criticism is unfounded. According to a USAid official, civil society actors were consulted, to ask about what the project needs to do, including womens leaders in and outside the capital, as well as the Ministry of Womens Affairs.

The official added that over 300 implementers had submitted 175 questions in a robust discussion, and that a procurement document had been made available online for comment in early 2013. I can very confidently say that the outreach has been significant and taken a lot of time, the official said, stressing that Promote does not replace USAids existing investments in rural education and healthcare.

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Afghanistan: US watchdog criticises aid scheme for women's rights

In May 2010, when Humira Saqib launched a magazine called Negah-e Zan, or Vision of Women, she knew she would face opposition. She never imagined she'd be forced to flee Afghanistan.

Almost immediately after publishing the inaugural issue, which included an article criticizing comments by a religious council in the northern province of Baghlan, Saqib started receiving threatening phone calls and comments online, she said.

Then it got worse. Her 10-year-old daughter was stabbed by unidentified assailants in Kabul but survived. Saqib was the target of an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt. She eventually moved with her family to Tajikistan, where they stayed for a year before returning to Afghanistan.

Despite laws aimed at safeguarding them, women's rights activists continue to face harassment and worse dangers in Afghanistan, Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday.

The international rights watchdog said the Afghan government "is failing in its obligations to protect them and to provide adequate remedy for the violations they experience."

The majority of threats come from the Taliban and other armed opposition groups, but government officials, law enforcement authorities and local strongmen also committed abuses against women's activists or failed to punish perpetrators, the report said.

The group, which interviewed 50 women and their families nationwide, accused Afghanistan's U.S.-trained security forces of inaction and inattention in cases of harassment against women.

Those allegations seemed to be borne out last month when a 28-year-old woman, falsely accused of burning pages of the Koran, was beaten and burned to death by an angry mob in Kabul. Cellphone video showed police officers at the scene doing little to stop the attack.

"The systemic failure of security and law enforcement agencies to respond to threats and investigate incidents of attacks reported by women human rights defenders is a human rights violation rooted in patriarchal traditions that normalize gender-based violence and render it acceptable," Amnesty said.

Saqib said police were "flippant" and "unhelpful" during her ordeal. Since returning to Afghanistan in 2013, she has decided to censor herself and avoid openly discussing controversial topics, especially religion. The 35-year-old mother to three daughters said she laments the lack of female Afghan voices on religious affairs especially sharia, or Islamic law but said her first responsibility was to her family.

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Afghanistan failing to protect women's rights activists, report says

Story highlights A group of fighters in Afghanistan is filmed by a CNN cameraman parading ISIS flags U.S. official: ISIS militants have "no military capability" at present, but are trying to recruit disillusioned Taliban in several areas Rivalry between ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan is fierce enough to mean the ISIS fighters could be killed for brandishing the flag

A group of fighters in Afghanistan agreed to be filmed by a CNN cameraman parading their ISIS flags in a valley not far to the south of Kabul, the Afghan capital. They are the first images of their kind shot by western media inside Afghanistan.

The rise of ISIS is an issue that the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, has termed a "terrible threat."

U.S. officials CNN has spoken to have voiced their concern about the potential for an ISIS presence.

One U.S. military officer said the militants currently have limited capability but are trying to recruit disillusioned Taliban in several areas around the country's east and south.

"There has been some very small numbers of recruitment that has happened," Colonel J B Vowell, told CNN.

"You have disaffected Taliban who are losing politically and some of the younger, newer fighters are moving to that camp. It doesn't mean it's operationally better. We are concerned about it -- resources, weapons, capabilities. (But) I don't see an operational effect."

In the valley, the men display their weapons, and practice high kicks. They are a little breathless at altitude, a little clumsy. They are all masked, all in military-style uniforms. Our cameraman described how locals seemed to keep their distance from them.

It is often said that rivalry between the nascent ISIS presence and the Taliban, who remain the big guns in Afghanistan, is fierce enough to mean the ISIS fighters could be killed for brandishing the flag.

But it is fatigue with the Taliban that appears to have provided fertile ground for their rise. One of them told CNN: "We established contacts with IS (another acronym for the group) through a friend who is in Helmand (in southern Afghanistan).

More here:
ISIS recruits in Taliban territory

Marines in the BRUTALLY FIGHT against the Taliban in Afghanistan avi
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Marines in the BRUTALLY FIGHT against the Taliban in Afghanistan avi - Video