Afghanistan has become haven for terrorists again, US leaked documents reveal
World
The Afghanistan findings are one facet of a complex and evolving terrorist threat.
(Web Desk) – Afghanistan has become a significant coordination site for the Islamic State as the terrorist group plans attacks across Europe and Asia, and conducts “aspirational plotting” against the United States, according to a classified Pentagon assessment that portrays the threat as a growing security concern.
The attack planning, detailed in US intelligence findings leaked on the Discors messaging platform and obtained by The Washington Post, reveal specific efforts to target embassies, churches, business centers and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, which drew more than 2 million spectators last summer in Qatar. Pentagon officials were aware in December of nine such plots coordinated by ISIS leaders in Afghanistan, and the number rose to 15 by February, says the assessment, which has not been disclosed previously.
“ISIS has been developing a cost-effective model for external operations that relies on resources from outside Afghanistan, operatives in target countries, and extensive facilitation networks,” says the assessment, which is labeled top-secret and bears the logos of several Defense Department organizations. “The model will likely enable ISIS to overcome obstacles — such as competent security services — and reduce some plot timelines, minimizing disruption opportunities.”
The Afghanistan findings are one facet of a complex and evolving terrorist threat described in the leaked documents, now linked to a criminal case in which a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is accused of sharing classified information with friends online. Other reports in the same documents trove reveal persistent efforts by the Islamic State in other parts of the world to obtain expertise for creating chemical weapons and operating drone aircraft, and a plot in which the group’s supporters would kidnap Iraqi diplomats in Belgium or France in a bid to secure the release of 4,000 imprisoned militants.
The documents will almost certainly be used as a political cudgel by congressional Republicans and others still seething about the Biden administration’s chaotic management of the US exit from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Hastily orchestrated, the evacuation enabled more than 120,000 people to flee the Taliban’s return to power. Tens of thousands of American allies were left behind, however, and the two-week operation saw horrific suffering. As the mission neared its end, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed an estimated 170 Afghans along with 13 American troops before US drone operators, believing they had identified another would-be ISIS attacker, killed 10 civilians in a botched airstrike days later.
Biden administration officials declined to verify the leaked documents’ authenticity, but defended their counterterrorism record since taking office.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement that the United States “maintains the ability to remove terrorists from the battlefield without permanent troop presence on the ground,” and has reorganised US counterterrorism operations to address future threats “anywhere.”
She cited as evidence, among other actions the administration has taken this year, a US Special Operations raid in Somalia that killed Bilal al-Sudani, an Islamic State leader whom US officials have said had influence with the group’s component in Afghanistan. Unlike Afghanistan, the Pentagon keeps a small military force in Somalia.
Meanwhile, Fox News reached out to the Department of Defense to confirm details of The Washington Post's reporting. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report comes months after Gen. Michael Kurilla, leader of US Central Command (CENTCOM) testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on ISIS-K's operations in Afghanistan.
Kurilla told lawmakers that the Pentagon estimated ISIS-K would be ready to conduct "an external operation against US or Western interests abroad in under six months with little-to-no warning."
"In a classified [hearing], I will talk about why I make that assessment. It is much harder for them to be able to do that against the homeland," the general added.
President Biden's handling of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 was widely criticized after the operation proved to be both deadly and chaotic.
Thirteen US service members were killed in a suicide bombing while protecting the evacuation at the Kabul airport. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Afghans surged to the airport seeking to escape the Taliban, with some even clinging to US transport planes as they took off.
House Republicans have launched several investigations into the Biden administration's actions, calling the episode a "stunning failure" of leadership.
Earlier this month, the White House released its own assessment of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which mostly blamed former President Trump's administration.
"President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor," the White House review said.
