Exclusive: Afghanistan has become a terrorism staging ground again, leak of sensitive U.S. documents reveals
A senior U.S. defense official said in an interview that, historically, the number of Islamic State plots in play have ebbed and flowed, with many never occurring. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has served as a check on the ISIS affiliate there, known as Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K, the official said. The two groups have warred openly, with ISIS-K launching attacks on ethnic minorities and government institutions, and Taliban security forces conducting raids on Islamic State hideouts.
The leaked assessment appears to complement congressional testimony from Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who told the House Armed Services Committee in March that the Islamic State had a stronger presence in Afghanistan than it did a year ago and could be capable of attacks outside the country within six months “with little to no warning.” Kurilla, who oversees U.S.
Separately, Iraq-based Islamic State operatives were observed vetting engineering students at a Damascus university to determine if their skills would be helpful. In another instance, the terrorist group sought information from a “Ukraine-based individual” about building a drone strong enough to carry a substantial a payload, the March document shows.
The documents also detail the Islamic State responding to several recent world events, including consideration for sending a suicide bomber to Qatar to attack the World Cup tournament last year. In recent weeks, U.S. forces have carried out two strikes in northern Syria targeting what the Pentagon described as senior Islamic State leaders. An April 4 strike killed a man said to be “responsible for planning ISIS attacks in Europe,” according to a statement. A helicopter raid by U.S. Special Operations forces on April 17 killed a second Islamic State official described as an “operational planner responsible for planning terrorist attacks in the Middle East and Europe,” a spokesman said.
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