(Daily mail): They have been arrested or surrounded in eastern Afghanistan over the past six months, according to the Afghan government, and presented in plain view today. The Afghan intelligence service, the National Deteriorate for Security, said at least 17 women and 159 children, most from foreign countries, are in custody.  There was no way to confirm that the prisoners the government presented to reporters are affiliated with the Islamic State group. Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted earlier this month that IS in eastern Afghanistan has been weakened by the Taliban as well operations in the US.  US Sen. Lindsey Graham said President Donald Trump may announce an American troop drawdown from Afghanistan before the year’s end, which would likely begin next year, last week. Graham, speaking from the Afghan capital of Kabul, said the president could reduce troop numbers to 8,600, down from the current estimated 12,000. This comes just days after Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad rejoined diplomatic talks with the Taliban which broke down three months ago. Khalilzad said the US was ‘taking a brief pause’ in talks following an attack near Bagram which killed two Afghan civilians and wounded 70.