UN sounds alarm over situation in Afghanistan: Report

United Nations (UN) has sounded alarm over increasing teror threat in Afghanistan. The UN has said that threat from terror groups like Daesh and Al-Qaeda is increasing in many places in Afghanistan. It also said that security situation remained fragile in the country and there was uncertainty around the peace process.

Tolo News said that a new report by United Nations Security Council said that Daesh's Khorasan branch or ISIL-K had moved into Afghan provinces like Nuristan, Badghis, Sar-e-Pul, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz and Kabul. This, in spite of the loss in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces in 2020.

According to the report, the group has strengthened its positions in and around Kabul, where it conducts most of its attacks, targeting minorities, activists, government employees and personnel of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

Most recently, Daesh had claimed responsibility for the brutal attack of June 8, wherein 10 humanitarian deminers working with HALO Trust in Baghlan Province were killed and 16 others were injured, it said. 

As Per Tolo News, ISIL-K has prioritised recruitment and training of new supporters.

The report stated that the estimates of the strength of Daesh`s Khorasan branch range widely, with one member state reporting between 500 and 1,500 fighters and another stating that it may rise to as many as 10,000 over the medium term.

"One member state stressed that ISIL-K was largely underground and clandestine," the report said., adding: "Its leader, Shahab al-Muhajir, alias Sanaullah, cooperates with Sheikh Tamim, head of the al-Sadiq office."

The report said that Tamim and his office are tasked by the Daesh core group to oversee the network connecting the Khorasan branch with Daesh presences in the wider region.

Tolo News said that Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under Taliban protection from Kandahar, Helmand, and Nimroz provinces.Since the death of Asim Umar in 2019, AQIS has been led by Osama Mahmood, the report said, adding that the group consists mainly of Afghan and Pakistani nationals, as also individuals from Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar.

On March 30, AQIS commander Dawlat Bek Tajiki (alias Abu Mohammad al-Tajiki) was killed by Afghan forces in the Gyan district of Paktika province.

"Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is assessed by the member states to be alive but ailing in Afghanistan. SayfAl Adl, his most likely successor, is reported to remain in the Islamic Republic of Iran," the report stated.

(With inputs from agencies)