LAST 24 HOURS
US GOVERNMENT LEAK CLAIMS AFGHANISTAN IS NOW A PLANNING HUB FOR ISIS – A leaked document, purported to have been assembled by the Pentagon, contains detailed assessments from US intelligence agencies about ISIS in Afghanistan. The documents reveal the US had successfully intercepted plans that targeted embassies, churches, business centers, and the FIFA tournament. According to the documents, Pentagon officials are tracking 15 international operations that have been proposed by ISIS. Some conclusions the report has proposed and subsequent commentary from US leaders are:
ISIS is using Afghanistan for centralized planning but has developed a cost-effective decentralized execution network for funding attacks.
The US recognized the Taliban and US interests are aligned on the ISIS issue and the Taliban has been somewhat successful in putting pressure on the terror group.
It is not currently clear how much autonomy or influence ISIS-K enjoys/exerts on the international leadership based in Syria.
One of the most troubling findings in the report concern ISIS’s recruitment of technical and engineering specialists over the last 3 years. Many believe this targeted recruiting is meant to facilitate a chemical attack. However, analysts seemed to agree these efforts had suffered a setback when the caliphate collapsed.
No evidence exists that al-Qaeda has established a presence in Afghanistan.
The documents, if authentic, demonstrate how well intelligence agencies have successfully penetrated ISIS operations. In the summary, analysts projected that ISIS would be restricted to small-scale manufacturing of conventional, chemical, or biological weapons but would have difficulty in deploying such weapons successfully.
CLARIFICATION RECEIVED ABOUT TAKHAR CLASHES REPORTED YESTERDAY – The Taliban have confirmed that a clash reported in the Darqad District of Takhar Province that resulted in the deaths of 3 Taliban members was the result of an inter-Taliban rivalry.
MORE AFGHANS REPORTEDLY ROUNDED UP IN KARACHI – An NGO in Pakistan’s Sindh Province reported that 11 Afghans had been arrested by Police yesterday and that many were officially registered with the United Nations as well as possessing legitimate visas and passports.
NEXT 24 HOURS
THREAT TO NORTHERN CHECKPOINTS REMAINS – No attacks were carried out over the previous twenty-four hours but security at the vehicle processing points in Northern Kabul was increased. It is still unclear who had threatened the installations, but the Taliban seem to be taking the threat seriously and we urge at-risk Afghans to avoid the areas for the next twenty-four hours.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Police in the Southern city of Lar have arrested 3 female teens and 2 men and have accused them of poisoning school girls in the city. Opposition members say their confessions were forced and all five were active in the protest movement.
Citizens openly mock the Police over the ‘Hijab-Cam’ policy. Police say they have sent a few hundred warning texts to violators but demurred over questions about any arrests or prosecutions. Youth in particular are attacking and opposing the policy.
Leaders of the regime launched an all-out publicity campaign against Israel in publicized remarks celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
PAKISTAN
Work crews at the site of the recent killer landslide near Torkham Gate have recovered an 8th body but efforts were hampered when another landslide occurred and forced workers to flee the site.
Prime Minister Sharif has called for a senior meeting of cabinet officials on 26 April in an attempt to end the political crisis in the country and preempt the Supreme Court which is scheduled to resume hearings on elections on the 27th of April.
India continues to make a case against Pakistan for providing the training used in the Poonch (Kashmir) terror attacks and believes Pakistan is harboring the two brothers who are the primary suspects in the attacks.
SPOTLIGHT OPINION
Time for the United States to Rethink its Strategy for Afghanistan
By Timor Sharan - Just Security
The idea of a “moderate” Taliban is a grave misconception. The current talk of “moderate” and “ultraconservative” Taliban among western policymakers is fundamentally deceptive. This has created a perception, and perhaps false hope, that if the moderates could do away with Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the current Taliban Supreme Leader, and his ultra-radical clerics, then they are a group with which the United States could do business. While some senior Taliban leaders have publicly aligned themselves with the domestic and external demands around girls’ education or women’s right to work, this is a matter of strategy and sequencing rather than fundamental differences around the Taliban’s shared puritanic vision, which is the total “Islamic” purification and radicalization of Afghan society, with potential consequences resonating far beyond Afghanistan.
AFGHAN NEWS
Leader: Non-Islamic Laws Will Never Be Implemented in Country
By TOLO News
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada asked other countries not to interfere in the internal affairs of…
Afghanistan: Eid celebrations muted for Herat women amid ongoing restrictions
By AMU TV
They say the ban on education, on working and various other edicts against them have stripped them of any enthusiasm to celebrate the…
Forces That Guard Kabul's Entrances Claim Security Has Improved
By TOLO News
Security personnel from Kabul's four gates said that in the past two months they seized drugs and various types of weapons from…
REGIONAL NEWS
Death Toll Rises to Eight from Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Crossing Landslide
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
According to officials on Saturday, the death toll has risen to eight due to a massive landslide that buried a fleet of trucks earlier this week as they…
China’s Defense Minister to Visit India for the First Time Since 2020 Galwan Clash
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Since the 2020 Galwan incident, the Chinese defence minister Shangfu’s planned visit to Delhi will mark the first time a Chinse Defense Minister has…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Before fleeing Afghanistan, she was an army commando. Now, she just wants to learn to drive
By Emma Epperly - Stars and Stripes
For six years, Hawa Haidari would wake up, pull on her camouflage uniform and tuck in the black hijab that framed her…
Olympics: Female Afghan athletes in exile seek pathway
By Jens Krepela - Deutsche Welle
Sport is strictly forbidden for women in Afghanistan, so hundreds fled into…
THE DAILY WTF
Islamic Emirate Pledges Security of Foreign Embassies
By Banafsha Binesh - TOLO News
"Our message to Saudi Arabia is that complete security is…
‘Well alrighty then.’ TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 86.33 AFN (as of 23 APR 2023)