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Islamic State operatives arrested after illegally crossing the US border
Eight Tajik nationals with ties to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) were recently arrested in major US cities after illegally crossing the Mexican border as early as 2023. The arrests underscore the resurgence of the ISKP after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and may indicate terrorist groups are seeking to exploit America’s border crisis to stage attacks.
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ISKP’s transnational reemergence
Leveraging its stronghold in Afghanistan and networks across Central and South Asia, ISKP is surging as a formidable transnational actor, posing a threat from Asia to Europe. The Taliban’s self-portrayal as a counterforce to ISKP raises concerns about their true motives and the perpetuation of regional instability.
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Opium protests catalyze anti-Taliban sentiments
Afghanistan has grappled with a surge in terrorism, deepening ethnic rifts, protests, and the devastating impact of natural calamities in recent weeks. Two years into their control of Afghanistan, the Taliban is struggling to govern as a state actor.
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Iranian reactions to the Islamic State’s suicide bombings in Kerman
While ISKP claimed responsibility for the Kerman twin suicide bombings, Iranian state media and officials are downplaying the Afghanistan connection and are instead pointing fingers at Israel. Despite internal crackdowns and heightened security measures, Iran treads carefully to avoid straining relations with the Taliban amid escalating tensions in the region.
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FDD’s Long War Journal’s response to Zalmay Khalilzad’s Twitter thread
FDD’s Long War Journal responds to the former ambassador’s assertion that assessments of Afghanistan once again becoming a terrorist safe haven are false.
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Department of Defense continues to downplay Taliban and Al Qaeda threat in Afghanistan
The U.S. military continues to recycle stale estimates of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan, and elevate the Islamic State as a greater threat.
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U.S. offers $10 million reward for leader of Islamic State Khorasan Province
Sanaullah Ghafar, who is also known as Shabab al-Muhajir, has been identified as an “ambitious new leader” of the Islamic State Khorasan Province. His challenge is to hold off the vastly superior Taliban, which controls Afghanistan.
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In fight against Islamic State, the Taliban holds major advantage
The Taliban has the advantage in all of the key areas, save one. The Taliban has state sponsors, terrorist allies, regional support, a marked superiority in weapons and numbers, and controls all of Afghanistan. ISKP can only match the Taliban in one area, and this the will to fight and persevere.
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Islamic State bombs Taliban convoys in eastern Afghanistan
The Islamic State claims to have attacked multiple Taliban personnel and vehicles across the city of Jalalabad on Sept. 18 and 19.
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Islamic State claims prison raid in eastern Afghanistan
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a prison assault in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. The facility reportedly holds about 1,500 inmates. It’s not clear how many were freed.
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Arrests in Germany highlight reach of Islamic State’s Central Asian network
German prosecutors announced last week that four alleged ISIS members were arrested and charged with planning attacks against U.S. military facilities. The four are from Tajikistan, a Central Asian country ISIS has long targeted for its recruiting efforts.
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Islamic State claims assault on Sikh temple in Afghan capital
The Islamic State’s Khorasan arm claims its terrorist, Abu Khalid al-Hindi, carried out an assault on a Sikh temple in Kabul earlier today. Despite suffering setbacks in eastern Afghanistan, the group has conducted several attacks in the Afghan capital this year.
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Islamic State claims two recent attacks in Kabul
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s assault on a memorial service held in honor of Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara political leader killed in 1995. The group’s Khorasan arm assaulted the same memorial rally last year.
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UN: Islamic State replaced leader in Afghanistan after visit from central leadership
According to a recently released report submitted to the UN Security Council, the Islamic State’s central leadership replaced the group’s head in Afghanistan earlier this year. The leadership change reportedly occurred after an Islamic State “core delegation” visited the country.
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Jihadists wound former Afghan intelligence chief in Kabul assault
Amrullah Saleh was responsible for killing and capturing thousands of Taliban commanders and fighters during his tenure as NDS chief and during his brief stint as interior minister.
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Islamic State, Taliban suicide bombers strike in Kabul
Eleven people were killed and dozens more were wounded in the bombings. The Taliban has launched seven suicide attacks in Afghanistan in the past 25 days.
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Fighters throughout the Khorasan renew allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan is the latest province of the so-called caliphate to release a video as part of the “And the Best Outcome is for the Righteous” series. Fighters in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kashmir, and Pakistan are shown renewing their oaths of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. One speaker blasts the Taliban, encouraging its fighters to defect.
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Suicide bomber strikes military academy in Kabul
An Islamic State suicide bomber struck outside the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul earlier today. It is the second time the so-called Khorasan province has attacked the academy. According to UNAMA, the jihadists launch more “suicide and complex attacks” in the Afghan capital than in any other area of the country.
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US Citizen Pleads Guilty to Recruiting for Lashkar-e-Taiba
An 18-year-old man from North Texas has pleaded guilty to charges that he conspired to actively recruit for the Pakistani-backed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), according to a release from the Department of Justice last week.
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UN sanctions Islamic State’s Khorasan province, as jihadists claim operations in Kashmir and Pakistan
On May 14, the UN Security Council added the Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan province to its list of sanctioned terrorist entities. The group has recently rebranded operations in Kashmir and Pakistan as the work of supposedly new “provinces.”
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Islamic State’s Khorasan arm targets government ministry
A small team of Islamic State jihadists assaulted the Ministry of Communications in Kabul on Apr. 20. It was the latest in a string of attacks on government ministries and other official sites in the Afghan capital.
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Islamic State launches mortars at memorial service in Kabul
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.
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UN: Al Qaeda continues to view Afghanistan as a ‘safe haven’
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.
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Taliban and Islamic State cause majority of civilian casualties in Afghan war, UN finds
According to UNAMA’s annual report for 2018, more civilians were killed in Afghanistan than in any year since 2009. The Taliban remains the main culprit when it comes to civilian casualties, killing or wounding more than any other party. But the number casualties attributed to the Islamic State’s branch more than doubled in 2018, as compared to 2017.
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US military continues to spin a Taliban victory against Islamic State as its own
The US military’s repeated attempts to spin the Taliban’s victory in Jawzjan as its own only serves to demonstrate just how eager it is to manufacture successes in Afghanistan when they are few and far between.
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US confirms death of emir of Islamic State Khorasan
The press release that announced Orakzai’s death said that he “is the third Islamic State – Khorasan chief killed in 25 months.” However, that is incorrect. The US military has announced the death of four Khorasan province emirs since July 2016.
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Islamic State’s emir for its Khorasan province reported killed
Bajauri’s death is likely to be touted as a strategic blow to Khorasan province. However, the US military has killed the three previous leaders in the span of 25 months, and yet the group has expanded its operations.
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Analysis: Gen. Nicholson says US strategy in Afghanistan ‘is working,’ despite the facts
At a Pentagon press conference, General Nicholson again gave a Pollyannish assessment of the state of Afghanistan. He claimed the peace process is working and the Taliban’s offensive is failing, and took credit for a Taliban victory over the Islamic State.
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Taliban says Islamic State has been ‘completely defeated’ in Jawzjan
The complex Taliban operation that was designed to eject the Islamic State from Jawzjan highlights the Taliban’s ability to coordinate and mass for attacks in the Afghan north. However it is unlikely that the Islamic State has been “completely defeated” in the north.
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Taliban, Islamic State continue battle in northern Afghanistan
The rise of the Islamic State in Jawzjan province over the past year has threatened the Taliban’s operations in the Afghan north.
