AhlulBayt News Agency: Despite Taliban leaders’ claims about obliteration of all ISIS cells in Afghanistan, field evidence and various reports show that the members of this terrorist group are still active in some parts of the country, and using different new tactics and strategies, they are reorganizing to regenerate insecurity and threats against civilians.
A bombing in the capital Kabul, on Tuesday reignited concerns over ISIS’s resurgence after a period of relative quiet. Reports indicate an explosion at a Kabul hotel, killing one Afghan security officer and wounding two Chinese nationals. While the cause remains under investigation and officials have yet to comment, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afghanistan, the new safe haven of ISIS
When in 2017 it lost territories it had captured in Syria and Iraq in 2014, ISIS shifted to Afghanistan to make it a new stronghold for its terror cells. Under ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) name, over the part years, it has launched hundreds of operations targeting civilians and security forces of the country.
Since the Taliban came to power in August 2021, ISIS has carried out dozens of terrorist attacks in this Central Asian country, claiming the lives of hundreds. The first act of terror by the group’s Khorasan branch was the bomb explosion at a Shiite mosque in Kunduz in October 2021, which resulted in over 50 fatalities and around 140 injuries.
This attack marked the beginning of a wave of violence. Following it, an assault on a military hospital in Kabul in November 2021 left 25 dead and 50 wounded. Additionally, a bombing at the Faizabad mosque in Badakhshan province in June 2023 resulted in 19 deaths and 38 injuries, while a suicide bombing in Kunduz in February 2025 left at least 5 dead and 7 injured. These attacks illustrate that despite the Taliban’s claims of having suppressed ISIS, the group retains the ability to conduct terrorist operations across various regions of the country.
Evidence indicates that the rise of the Taliban has turned Afghanistan into a safe haven for the entry and movement of terrorists. A spokesperson for the Pakistani army referred to the Taliban as the “guardian of terrorist groups” in Afghanistan and stated that 2,500 terrorists have been transferred from Syria to Afghanistan. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry emphasized that the challenge of terrorism has intensified over the past year, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, stating: “The fight against terrorism will continue with full force.”
In recent weeks, Tajikistan government reported increase in the moves of the armed groups in the country’s borders with Afghanistan. According to the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, last month, two border guards were killed clashing with armed men making their way into the country from Afghanistan. After the incident, Dushanbe officials called on the Taliban government to take more serious measures in the border regions.
The Tajik officials have repeatedly warned that the northern provinces of Afghanistan, including Badakhshan, Takhar, and Kunduz, have become transit routes for militants, human and arms traffickers, and extremist groups. According to Tajik government, this trend has intensified since the Taliban took over power, posing a security challenge for neighboring countries.
In addition, the Afghan news site Khaama Press recently reported, citing the United Nations Security Council, that ISIS has prioritized establishing schools and training centers in some northern regions of Afghanistan, as well as near the Pakistan border. In these centers, they are reportedly training underage children to participate in suicide attacks.
The report states that the main objective of ISIS Khorasan is to carry out widespread attacks on a regional and international scale, demonstrating its ability to recruit and secure funding. UN analysts have emphasized that the group’s expanding influence poses a persistent threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the entire region.
According to UN assessments, over 20 regional and international terrorist groups are currently present in Afghanistan, including ISIS Khorasan, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda, the East Turkestan Movement, and Ansarullah Movement. These groups have been involved in attacks both within Afghanistan and in neighboring countries.
These reports emerge at a time when some sources have indicated the US intention to transfer imprisoned ISIS members from Syrian jails to other regions. Recently, hundreds of members of this group took advantage of the ongoing conflict between the Syrian interim government and Kurdish forces to escape from prison, raising significant concerns about the resurgence of ISIS and the expansion of its extremist activities.
Having in mind that ISIS can no longer roam free in Iraq and Syria as before, this terrorist organization is seeking a new stronghold to ensure its survival. In such context, many analysts believe that Afghanistan, suffering from fragile security structure and dim political outlook after the Taliban re-rise, can offer a proper ground contributing to realization of the terrorists’ agenda.
ISIS and Taliban: What’s behind the scenes?
One of the reasons ISIS has bolstered its presence in Afghanistan is the support offered to the terror group by some factions within the Taliban rule. Reports have recently begun to reveal infighting within the Taliban’s two opposite blocs, one led by Sirajuddin Haqqani and the other by Hebatullah Akhondza, giving space to ISIS growth.
In this context, it is believed that the Haqqani Network, with more extremist approaches and ideological closeness to militants factions, supports ISIS activities in Afghanistan. However, a broader segment of the Taliban and local commanders not only exhibit little inclination toward ISIS and extremist movements but also regard their continued presence as a threat to internal cohesion and the future stability of their power. This intra-group conflict could directly influence the Taliban’s security policies and its ability to combat ISIS in Afghanistan.
Considering that extremist factions within the Taliban have a negative and hostile attitude toward religious minorities, especially the Hazara Shiites, and have implemented punitive and repressive policies against these groups over the past four years, this segment of the Taliban shares clear commonalities with ISIS in their views and actions regarding minorities.
Some observers, therefore, propose the possibility that the Taliban might clandestinely exploit ISIS’s activities to apply more pressure on minorities. In this way, these terrorist groups could periodically conduct attacks against minority communities.
In such a scenario, the Taliban could achieve a dual objective: on one hand, by feigning opposition to ISIS operations, they could cast themselves as defenders of minority security, thereby gaining domestic and international legitimacy; on the other hand, without directly accepting responsibility, they could create conditions for the suppression, intimidation, and weakening of religious minorities by ISIS. While this hypothesis requires validation through independent and credible information, the possibility of the Taliban politically exploiting sectarian violence to strengthen its position exists.
Terrorist actions of ISIS, carried out by indirect Taliban support, come as the leaders of the Taliban government, officially calling itself Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, are seeking to monopolize the power within Pashtun hands by isolating other sectarian and political groups just contrary to their claims of work for an inclusive government. In other words, their policies and performance are transforming Afghanistan’s political structure, making the way for a state perhaps to be named “Pashtunistan” or “Talibanistan” instead of working towards a united and cohesive country.
/129
Your Comment