The Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is in Afghanistan and currently holding meetings with other Taliban leaders, sources told Ariana News on Sunday. According to the sources, Akhundzada has been in southern Kandahar for the last four days. Sources said the Taliban’s leader is holding meetings with other Taliban leaders about the situation in Afghanistan and the formation of […]

A band of veteran Afghan leaders, including two regional strongmen, are angling for talks with the Taliban and plan to meet within weeks to form a new front for holding negotiations on the country’s next government, a member of a group said. Khalid Noor, son of Atta Mohammad Noor, the once-powerful governor of northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province, said the group […]

Iran is engaging Taliban leaders following their takeover in Afghanistan, hoping for stability and an end to the flow of Afghan refugees into Iran. Tehran is heralding a U.S. humiliation and the U.S. military withdrawal, which has led to the removal of American forces from near its eastern border. Iran is likely to try to develop leverage against the Taliban […]

Multiple suicide attacks claimed by IS-K rocked Kabul yesterday, injuring 140 people and killing another 60, including 11 U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy medic, with these numbers likely to increase. A senior U.S. official had warned on Wednesday night of a “specific” and “credible” threat by IS-K against the Kabul airport, though it’s unclear what preventive measures were taken. […]

An Islamic State affiliate that is a sworn enemy of both the Taliban and the United States threatens a large-scale attack against the mission at the airport. The United States has been battling the Taliban and their militant partners in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda and the Haqqani network, for 20 years. But the biggest immediate threat to both the Americans and […]

ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the explosion that erupted near the Kabul airport on Thursday and killed at least 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans. U.S. officials had warned of an ISIS attack over the past week in wake of the sweeping Taliban takeover. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of the U.S. Central Command said Thursday that the attackers were two […]

The Taliban’s recent capture of Kabul has the group poised to take back control over Afghanistan. Without question, a Taliban-led Afghanistan is going to be a hospitable operating environment for terrorists, insurgents, and militias of various stripes. But not all terrorist groups are created equal, in terms of capabilities, intent, or relationship to the Taliban. Counter-terrorism officials are alarmed that, […]

Indian External Affairs (Foreign) Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar presided over a UN Security Council meeting last week focused on threats posed by ISIL. Davood Moradian, Director General of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, briefed the UNSC and accused the Islamic world of being passive observers. The UN Secretary-General’s report highlighted the growing terrorist threat in Africa and the importance of […]