8am: The security and intelligence gaps created by the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan and the extensive presence of active terrorist and radical Islamic groups under their umbrella represent a significant and growing threat. This environment has created a remarkable opportunity for international terrorist organizations, including ISIS-K, al-Qaeda, and TTP, to strengthen and expand their operations.
Michael Hughes: The CIA claims it established a back channel with the Taliban to cooperate on operations against anti-Western terrorist groups, while suggesting dire warnings of Afghanistan becoming a terrorist sanctuary are overblown. The narrative has been spun harder recently, undeniably for political purposes ahead of a presidential election, but the covert agency’s assertions are
Foreign Policy: Al Qaeda has set up nine new terrorist camps in Afghanistan in 2024, a sign of the Taliban’s increasing tolerance of terror groups in their backyard in spite of pledges to crack down, according to an Afghan resistance leader visiting Washington this week. “These are training centers; these are recruitment centers,” said Ali
Michael Hughes August 10, 2024 The Taliban have long represented themselves as a group with a local vision and little to no aspirations of carrying jihad beyond Afghan borders. Putting aside that aligning with al-Qaeda, an international terrorist group, single-handedly undermines this narrative, evidence continues to mount that Afghanistan has become an ideal base for
Afghanistan International: Afghanistan International has obtained the names of Taliban officials involved in transporting and sheltering Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda, in Kabul. According to the information, Ayman al-Zawahiri was brought to Kabul by Qari Khalid Hikmat, a native of Kandahar and the head of the 08 department of the Directorate General of
Afghanistan International: Afghanistan United Front (AUF) claimed that Esmail Qaani, commander of Quds Force, in a secret meeting with representatives of Al-Qaeda and Taliban, had stated that Iran is willing to fund Al-Qaeda’s activities in Afghanistan and Middle East. Qaani mentioned that their common goal is to expel the United States from the Middle East.
Long War Journal: Al Qaeda is operating training camps in the Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Takhar, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported. These facilities are in addition to those located in 10 other provinces that the Monitoring Team identified over the past year. Additionally, the Monitoring Team notes that Al
Afghanistan International: Reliable sources have informed Afghanistan International that ahead of Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Kabul, the Taliban administration plans to relocate Pakistani Taliban members to a camp in Ghazni. Restraining Pakistani militants is Islamabad’s primary demand from the Afghan Taliban. Sources from both the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban have confirmed
Michael Hughes: Chinese President Xi Jinping at the South Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana called on the bloc to boost humanitarian support and efforts to rebuild Afghanistan given its criticality to the region’s security. The remarks come as the Taliban try to reassure the world the regime can crack down on terrorism, including
8am: The Hasht-e Subh Daily has obtained information indicating that the Taliban are constructing a well-equipped base with residential houses for the al-Qaeda network in the Malekuddin area of Nawa district, Ghazni province. Additionally, they are building three settlements for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Dasht-e Bagh-e Attar area of Qarabagh district, Dasht-e Kabuli