A new UN report shows that contrary to claims by the Taliban that they do not work with international terrorist organizations, the group has increased ties with transnational terrorist groups since its resurgence to power in 2021.
The report by the Security Council’s Sanctions Monitoring Committee, which oversees the implementation of terrorism-related sanctions by member states, shows that the regional branch of the Islamic State, IS-K, is deeply entrenched within the Taliban ranks. The relationship between IS-K and Taliban might come as a surprise to many, particularly since the Taliban’s self-claimed efforts to fight IS-K has been lauded before, including by the US government.[1]
While publicly acknowledging the Taliban’s campaign against IS-K, authorities in Washington had also registered worries about the growth of the Jihadi group in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover. A Pentagon document, seen by the Washington Post in April 2023, showed that Afghanistan had become a “significant coordination site” for the Islamic State, as the group plans to carry out attacks in Asia and Europe, with the aspiration to reach the US.
The document revealed that ISIS has been persistent in its efforts to obtain expertise in creating chemical weapons and acquiring and operating drones.
The new Security Council report also confirms wide suspicion by observers and earlier concerns that the Taliban continue to maintain close ties with Al-Qaeda. The global terrorist group whose leader was killed by an American drone strike inside a Taliban compound in Kabul in 2022, has established as many as eight new training camps in the country, according to the report. Four of these camps are located in Ghazni, Logar, Parwan and Oruzgan provinces, three of which surround Kabul in multiple directions. The group also operates schools in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan.
The UN Security Council says Al-Qaeda has a new weapon depot in the Panjshir Valley, where the Taliban led a brutal campaign to suppress a nascent resistance movement in the wake of its return to power. It is not clear whether the Qaeda depot contains caches of weapons from the previous government that the Taliban seized after they took over the valley.
In response to the report, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called it a propaganda. In a statement on Thursday, February 1, Mujahid said, “a regular program of accusing the IEA [Taliban] has been started from the address of the UN, which is always spreading propaganda.”
The report also highlights the relationship between the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban, noting that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has previously assisted Taliban fighters in their conflict against the republic government and foreign military. According to the report, “some Taliban members also joined TTP, perceiving a religious obligation to provide support.” TTP members and their families regularly receive aid packages from the Taliban, the UN says.
The Taliban maintain and further their ties to regional and international terror networks with a constant effort to increase its plausible deniability, according to the UN team. The emergence of the Tahreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) in February 2023, purportedly was to provide a front for the Taliban’s actions, alleviating pressure from Pakistan. Led by Abdullah Yaghistani, the group conducts attacks, including one against Pakistani security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in December 2023.
