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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 claims deadly school bombing in Kabul
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a school in the Afghan capital yesterday. The so-called caliphate’s jihadists regularly target Shiite civilians in its “suicide and complex attacks.”
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Raid on Afghan school for midwives ended after several hours
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on a school for midwives in Jalalabad, Afghanistan yesterday, saying the target was a headquarters for USAID. Despite a focused, US-led counterterrorism campaign against Wilayah Khorasan in Nangarhar, the group retains an operational footprint in eastern Afghanistan.
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Islamic State claims suicide bombing near ceremony for Afghanistan’s returning vice president
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that struck near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul only minutes after Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum passed through the area.
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UN: Taliban remains prime culprit in Afghan civilian casualties
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found that the Taliban was responsible for more civilian casualties than any other party in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2018.
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Khorasan arm of Islamic State again strikes Afghan ministry in Kabul
The Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the Afghan government’s Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry in Kabul earlier today. The so-called caliphate dispatched a suicide bomber to strike the same ministry in June.
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Islamic State claims suicide bombing at election rally in Pakistan
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a devastating suicide bombing at an election rally in Mastung, Baluchistan earlier today. More than 100 people were killed and dozens more wounded. The so-called caliphate has identified the bomber as Abu Bakr al-Pakistani and claims that a Pakistani intelligence official was among the victims.
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Islamic State claims responsibility for bombing outside Afghan ministry in Kabul
A suicide bomber struck the front gate of the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development building in Kabul earlier today. The Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility via its Amaq News Agency propaganda arm. It is the latest in a string of attacks claimed by the so-called caliphate in Kabul this year.
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Suicide bomber strikes religious conference in Kabul
A suicide bomber struck a meeting of the Afghan Ulema Council (AUC) in Kabul earlier today. The Taliban’s spokesman denied that his group had any connection to the attack. However, the Islamic State claimed responsibility via its Amaq News Agency, which released two short messages on the “martyrdom” operation.
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Islamic State releases photo of 10-man team responsible for Kabul raid
The US military initially assessed that an attack on Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior in Kabul yesterday wasn’t the work of the Islamic State, but instead the Taliban’s Haqqani Network. However, the Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan province quickly claimed responsibility for the operation. And today, the group released a photo purportedly showing the 10-man (or adolescent) team responsible.
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Jihadists attack Afghan interior ministry in Kabul
A team of jihadists assaulted Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior in Kabul earlier today. It is the latest in a string of attacks inside the Afghan capital this year. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State’s Khorasan “province” are able to hit targets inside the city.
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ISIS suicide bombers target security forces, journalists in Kabul
Two suicide bombers killed dozens inside the Afghan capital today. The first targeted a checkpoint near an Afghan intelligence building, while the second struck journalists and others who rushed to the scene. Reporters Without Borders says it “was the deadliest attack on the media since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.”
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Suicide bomber strikes voter registration office in Kabul
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a voter registration office in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. It is the latest in a string of attacks carried out by the group inside the Afghan capital. More than 50 people were killed and over 100 others wounded, according to initial casualty reports.
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Islamic State suicide bomber strikes near shrine in Afghan capital
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch quickly claimed responsibility for an attack near a shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Sunni jihadists regularly target Shiite civilians in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
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Islamic State branch claims attack on Afghan military academy
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency quickly claimed responsibility for an assault near the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. It is the third major attack inside the Afghan capital in the past eight days. The previous two were carried out by the Taliban.
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Islamic State’s Khorasan ‘province’ claims responsibility for attack on cultural center in Kabul
Dozens of civilians were killed during a bombing at the Tabayan cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Islamic State’s Khorasan “province,” which regularly targets Shiite civilians and places of worship in Afghanistan, quickly claimed responsibility.
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Taliban touts defection of Islamic State ‘deputy’
The Taliban is touting the defection of Mullah Abdul Razzaq Mehdi, the purported “deputy” of the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan. The Taliban is using his testimony to undermine the will of its jihadist rivals inside Afghanistan. But in so doing, the group reveals just how similar the two often are.
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Islamic State, Taliban claim Kabul attack during Secretary of Defense’s visit
Both the Taliban and the Islamic State’s Khorasan “province” claimed responsibility for an assault on the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan this morning. The attack coincided with a visit by Secretary of Defense James Mattis to the country, although it appears he was not at the airport at the time.
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Islamic State’s Khorasan ‘province’ assaults Iraqi embassy in Kabul
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan attacked the Iraqi embassy in Kabul earlier today. Nearly 16 years after the US invaded Afghanistan, civilian and official facilities in the country’s capital are regularly assaulted. Both the Taliban and Wilayah Khorasan have launched complex operations in Kabul on multiple occasions this year.
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US kills third emir of Islamic State’s Khorasan province
The US announced that Abu Sayed, the emir of the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan, died as result of an airstrike in Afghanistan’s Kunar province on July 11. He is the third emir of Wilayah Khorasan killed in the past year.
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Islamic State fights the Taliban, Afghan government-backed locals in Tora Bora Mountains
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan province) released a set of photos documenting its battles against the Taliban near the Tora Bora Mountains. The group’s offensive in the area forced the Afghan government to provide more support to locals who had sided with the Taliban in order to counter Wilayah Khorasan’s offensive in June.
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NATO: Islamic State falsely claimed killing of 2 Americans in Afghanistan
The Islamic State claimed that a “SPG-9 round destroyed an American Cougar vehicle” in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, killing two “Crusaders” and three Afghan soldiers on board. However, NATO’s Resolute Support says that this isn’t true, and the two Americans were wounded.
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US: ‘Major’ Islamic State media ‘hub’ destroyed in Nangarhar, Afghanistan
According to US Forces-Afghanistan, Jawed Khan, a “senior director of media production” for the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (ISIS-K), “was killed in an airstrike in Achin, Nangarhar Province on June 3.”
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Islamic State continues to target Shiite civilians in Kabul
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for an attack on Al Zahra Mosque in Kabul earlier today. Shiite worshippers had gathered at the mosque as part of Ramadan. The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan has repeatedly targeted Shiites in Kabul, causing mass casualties on several occasions over the past year.
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Bomb blast rocks Kabul during rush hour, killing dozens of civilians
A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives in the Afghan capital this morning. The bombing was carried out near the German Embassy. At least 80 people were killed, according to initial casualty reports.
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Islamic State claims attack on National Radio Television of Afghanistan
A team of several jihadists raided the offices of National Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) in Jalalabad earlier today. At least several people were killed and many others wounded. The Islamic State claims two of its men detonated “explosive motorcycles” at the beginning of the operation.
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The US Intelligence Community’s newest assessment of the jihadist threat
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
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Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan bombs convoy carrying Pakistani politician
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, the deputy chairman of Pakistan’s Senate. Haideri was injured. Dozens of others were also killed or wounded in the blast, which was launched in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
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US: Emir of Islamic State’s Khorasan province killed in Apr. 27 raid
US Forces – Afghanistan released a statement today saying that Abdul Hasib’s death during a raid on Apr. 27 has been confirmed. Abdul Hasib was the emir of the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan province) and “directed” the Mar. 8 assault on a military hospital in Kabul.
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Islamic State suicide bomber strikes NATO convoy in Kabul
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan “province”) has claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed at least eight civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The suicide attack targeted a NATO convoy that was driving near the US Embassy in Afghanistan’s capital. Three American servicemen were wounded in the blast.
