KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Sarah Adams, a US intelligence analyst and former CIA officer, has dismissed the Taliban’s recent claim of attacking an ISIS hideout in Kabul, asserting the operation was “fake,” staged to appease the U.S. and secure counterterrorism funding.
The Taliban announced on Monday that they carried out an operation against IS-KP, the regional affiliate of the Islamic State, in northern Kabul. They claimed to have destroyed IS-KP hideouts, though no further details about the operation have been provided.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sarah challenged the Taliban’s narrative, claiming the alleged hideout was actually an intelligence compound controlled by the Taliban.
“Let me explain just how laughable this operation is,” Sarah wrote. “We know this location well from our ground investigation into ISKP and the Abbey Gate attack—yes, we’ve literally been collecting on this site.”
She added that the building has been under the control of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence’s (GDI) Zulfiqar unit since August 2021.
Moreover, she claimed that the site is where the Haqqani network, a faction within the Taliban, secretly met with senior IS-KP leadership while providing misleading intelligence to Western nations about their efforts to combat the group.
“Why fake these operations?!” Sarah questioned, suggesting that it is done “because the Taliban receives counterterrorism dollars delivered to them in Doha by the U.S. government.” She pointed to a recent $46 million payment to the Taliban in Doha as supporting evidence.
In recent years, the Taliban has repeatedly claimed to have attacked and dismantled IS-KP within Afghanistan. They have also accused the UN, foreign governments, and international organizations of exaggerating the threat posed by the group.
However, IS-KP continues to operate in Afghanistan, carrying out deadly attacks on Hazara-Shias and the Taliban members. The group has also claimed responsibility for cross-border attacks, including those in Russia and Iran last year.
