The Islamic State’s Khorasan province has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing outside of the Kabul airport earlier today. 12 U.S. service members were killed and 15 others wounded in a pair of attacks inside the capital. Dozens of others were killed or wounded as well.
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced a new round of counterterrorism designations targeting the Islamic State’s support networks in Turkey, Afghanistan and the Gulf.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at a hotel where a wedding party was celebrating. ISIS-K claims the bombing operation was two-part. After a suicide bomber detonated himself inside the hotel, a car bomb was detonated outside.
Earlier today, the Islamic State’s Khorasan “province” attacked a memorial held in honor of Abdul Ali Mazari, an ethnic Hazara leader who was killed by the Taliban in 1995. The Islamic State’s loyalists frequently target Shiites in the Afghan capital.
According to the UN’s Jan. 2019 assessment, al Qaeda’s relationship with the Taliban is “long-standing” and “strong.” And al Qaeda “continues to see Afghanistan as a safe haven for its leadership.” The UN estimates that the Islamic State has several thousand fighters in Afghanistan as well.
