Leaked document shows ISIS re-emergence in Afghanistan

ISIS is one of the most well-known terrorist groups in Afghanistan
It may be re-emerging, and using the country as a safe haven
This is all part of a new report that came out on leaked documents

Updated: Apr 24, 2023 / 02:56 PM CDT

FILE- A Taliban fighter checks an Islamic State group house that was destroyed in the ongoing conflict between the two in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

(NewsNation) — ISIS is re-emerging in Afghanistan, and using the country as a safe haven to coordinate its terrorist activity.

This was revealed because of reports that were included in that massive leak of classified information that appeared on the online platform Discord.

The Washington Post was first to report that, according to leaked Pentagon memos, ISIS now has a more established footing in Afghanistan, where the terrorist group is plotting attacks across Europe, Asia and “aspirational plots” against the U.S.

Memos cited included specific targets that include churches, embassies, business centers and the FIFA World Cup.

ISIS, the Washington Post reports, coordinated 15 specific plots from Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal.

None of this is a major shock, as many lawmakers and intelligence officials had been warning since around the time of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that this was a possibility.

It was already known elements of ISIS were operating there. In fact, the suicide bomb that killed 13 American service members and close to 180 Afghans was set off by an ISIS member.

Last week, the issue came up in a hearing at Capitol Hill. As the Taliban is now in control in Afghanistan, it appears they’re playing nice with ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

This includes selling American weapons and vehicles the U.S. left behind.

“Is the Taliban giving U.S. weapons left behind to other terrorist organizations or hostile countries do you think?” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., asked at the hearing.

In response, John Sopko, Inspector General of the Afghanistan reconstruction, said he talked to an Afghan general last week who said it’s basically become a “weapons bazaar.”

“The equipment is going to terrorists both in country and out of country,” Sopko said.

While Sopko didn’t name ISIS specifically, if the leaked Pentagon memos are accurate, the group is certainly among the most well-known of the terrorist organizations operating within Afghanistan.

American diplomats in Kabul were communicating to their American officials through secret channels, expressing concern the Afghan government would collapse if the U.S. withdrew as it did.

House Foreign Affairs chairman Michael McCaul has extended a deadline for Blinken to provide the committee with dissent cable information, from April 19 to May 1.

The committee issued a subpoena to Blinken, though it is unclear if he will comply.