ISIS using Afghanistan for planning attacks, classified leak suggests

The threat of terror from Afghanistan has only grown since the departure of US troops in August 2021. According to a leaked document reported by the Washington Post, Afghanistan has become a hub for the Islamic State to plan attacks across Europe and Asia while also plotting against the United States. The Pentagon was aware of 15 coordinated plots by ISIS leaders in Afghanistan by February, with intentions to target embassies, churches, business centers, and even the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar.

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, recently warned that ISIS-K militants in Afghanistan will have the ability to launch external attacks in less than six months. The Taliban’s military offensive in the final weeks of the US military’s presence in Afghanistan resulted in the evacuation of over 120,000 Afghans, but also left thousands of allies behind. The final days of the evacuation were marred by a suicide bombing by an ISIS-K terrorist outside the gates of the Kabul airport, killing 13 US service members and roughly 170 Afghans.

Since the withdrawal, the US military has maintained its counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan from afar, launching one strike in July 2022 targeting Ayman al Zawahiri, the successor of Osama bin Laden in al Qaeda’s leadership. The Biden administration has faced scrutiny for the chaotic withdrawal, with congressional investigations and a recently released after-action report placing much of the blame on the Trump administration.

Conservatives are likely to reengage in their attack against the president given the new insight on the terror threat in Afghanistan. The leaked document was one of a couple hundred allegedly leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Douglas Teixeira, who has been charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. Stay informed by reading more from the Washington Examiner.