Afghanistan Content Report

April 12 – 18, 2025

Please note that all items in this issue concern ISIS-K

Table of contents

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 491, Published April 17, 2025
2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements
4. Pro-ISIS Al-Hadid Infographic, Released April 14, 2025
5. Pro-ISIS Al-Hadid Infographic, Released April 14, 2025

Main points (Pro-ISIS Online Chatter)

Afghanistan

• Four Taliban officials, including members of the intelligence service, were killed on the Kandahar–Takhar Road.
• Unidentified gunmen killed a Taliban intelligence officer and injured another in Shor Tepe, Balkh.
• The Taliban allegedly have closed the offices of the political party Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Party of Afghanistan), led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.              
• A pro-ISIS Telegram account accused the Taliban of not implementing religiously mandated punishments.
• Russia removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations.
• A Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) commander, Sher Ali, was killed in Kandahar.

Pakistan

• Eight bus passengers were killed in an attack by unidentified individuals in Balochistan on April 12.
• On April 15, ISIS took credit for an attack in Mastung, Balochistan, on a bus transporting police officers to an election rally.
• Unidentified gunmen killed Malik Asad Bangash, a former government official for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and wounded a Ministry of Interior officer.
• Unidentified gunmen killed three Shiite men in Kurram District, Parachinar, Pakistan.
• Unidentified individuals killed an alleged intelligence officer in Bajaur.
• Pakistani army soldiers were attacked with an explosive device in Panjgur, Balochistan.
• Mohammad Altaf Minhas, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, died of injuries from “a deliberate hit-and-run” in Punjab.

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 491, Published April 17, 2025

• There were no ISIS-K news items in this week’s al-Naba.

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter

• April 12: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that eight bus passengers in Balochistan, Pakistan, were killed in an attack.

“Urgent: An armed attack targeted a bus in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing eight passengers. The cause of the incident remains unknown.”

• April 13: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen killed a Taliban intelligence officer and injured another in Shor Tepe, Balkh.

“Urgent. Gunmen carried out a major attack targeting two Taliban national intelligence officers in the Shor Tepe area of ​​Balkh, Afghanistan, killing one and wounding the other.

“Dead: Qari Abdullah.

“Wounded: Jalaluddin.”

• April 13: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that local sources in Balkh confirmed that the two men who were attacked in the province were members of Taliban intelligence.

Text: “Local sources in Balkh province said that ‘unknown gunmen’ killed a Taliban member and wounded another.

“Sources reported that the men were attacked in the Shor Tepe area of ​​Balkh province on Sunday while returning from the Mardyan district of Jowzjan province.

“The sources identified the deceased as Qari Abdullah, while the wounded man was identified as Jalaluddin.

“The sources stated that the two men belonged to Taliban intelligence in the [Nahri] Shahi district of Balkh province.”

“Update. Local sources confirmed that the dead and wounded men were members of Taliban intelligence.”

• April 13: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified individuals killed a man in Bajaur, Pakistan.

“Urgent. An armed attack targeted a person in the Mamund area of ​​Bajaur, Pakistan, resulting in his immediate death.”

• April 13: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the individual killed in Mamund, Bajaur, was allegedly a Pakistani intelligence officer. 

“Update. The target is a Pakistani intelligence officer.”

• April 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban have shuttered the offices of the political party Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Party of Afghanistan), led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. See https://8am.media/eng/from-ally-to-apostate-what-do-the-taliban-want-from-hezb-e-islami-afghanistan/.

“Entertainment. The Taliban national government has closed all headquarters of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hekmatyar’s party), despite his years of flattery and support for their rule.”

• April 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban is not following religious law in punishing gay men. The post noted that men arrested for same-sex activity received punishments of 20 lashes and eight months in prison. See https://www.chashm.net/#/news/taliban-publicly-flog-4-men-in-ghazni-and-ghor-for-sodomy,-per-supreme-court.-each-received-15%E2%80%9320-lashes-and-prison-terms-of-2%E2%80%938-months.-punishments-have-been-carried-out./5381.

“Follow-ups. The Taliban’s national government has sentenced gay men to 20 lashes and only eight months in prison. Observers are wondering where these rulings came from. We leave the answer to Asim [sic].”

• April 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that fighting occurred in Dobandi, Kunduz, between the Taliban and an unidentified force.

“Urgent: Violent clashes heard near a Taliban national government security headquarters in the village of Dobandi in Kunduz, Afghanistan.”

• April 14: Pro-ISIS post on RocketChat stating that Afghan Shiites are requesting that the Taliban take additional measures to fight ISIS. It is unclear if the post below is referring to a specific article.

“Shiite Minority in Afghanistan: Safer Under Taliban Rule, But Not Safe Enough. Some Shiites in Kabul expressed hope that the Islamic State threat to them in Afghanistan would diminish. They emphasized the need for the ruling Taliban to make greater efforts to combat the Islamic State.”

• April 15: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there were multiple casualties in an attack on a bus in Mastung, Balochistan, carrying police officers to an election rally. ISIS claimed credit for the attack the same day.

“Urgent. An explosive device planted inside a motorcycle targeted a police bus in the Mastung area of ​​Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing and wounding 22 officers. The initial toll is three killed and 19 others wounded. The explosion targeted a police bus en route to secure an election rally for a Pakistani Baloch party.”

• April 15: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen killed Malik Asad Bangash, a former government official for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and wounded a Ministry of Interior officer. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1904461/former-district-nazim-killed-in-kohat. 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinated Malik Asad [Bangash], a local government official in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and injured his companion, a Ministry of Interior officer.”

• April 15: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming to show a photo of Afghan Tajik Taliban commander Abdul Hamid Khorasani in Moscow.

“Entertainment. A photo of Abdul Hamid Khorasani, the leader of the Afghan National Taliban Movement, in the Russian capital, Moscow.”

• April 15: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the ISIS attack on a bus carrying police officers in Balochistan was intended to show that the police, and not only political rallies, were vulnerable. The post claimed that the attack led to “mutual accusations” between political parties, politicians, and government officials, and that previous attacks have led to discord between the Afghan Taliban and the government of Pakistan.

“Update. Observers: It is worth noting that the purpose of the attack in Pakistan was carefully chosen. Security forces were directed to protect the rally of a local politician, but they fell victim to an attack. For this reason, after the explosion, mutual accusations erupted between political parties, politicians, government forces, and others. Previous major attacks have also led to similar tensions and internal conflicts within Pakistan, and even between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani government.”

• April 16: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Pakistani army soldiers were attacked with an explosive device in Panjgur, Balochistan.

“Urgent. An explosive device exploded targeting a Pakistani army patrol in the Panjgur area of ​​Balochistan province, resulting in casualties and the army’s withdrawal from the area.”

• April 16: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Mohammad Altaf Minhas, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, died of injuries from “a deliberate hit-and-run” in Punjab, Pakistan.

“Follow-ups. Local sources: Mohammad Altaf Minhas, a.k.a. Mohammad Ashfaq, a commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), died at Muzaffarabad Central Hospital, Jammu and Kashmir, from serious injuries sustained in a deliberate hit-and-run accident in Tariqabad [, Punjab,] on April 15, 2025.

“Lashkar-e-Taiba claims Ashfaq was a resident of Nawan Gabrah, Kupwara, North Kashmir, India. He is said to have crossed the border from India into Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, trained in LeT camps, and became a [top] commander.”

• April 17: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban claim to be afraid of terrorists crossing the border from Pakistan, Pakistan accuses terrorists of crossing the border from Afghanistan, and the U.S. is “afraid of terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” The post derisively calls the Taliban employees of former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.

“Follow-ups. Zalmay Khalilzad, [former] U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, says his staff in Afghanistan (the Taliban government) are afraid of terrorists in Pakistan.

“The Pakistani government tells America, ‘We are afraid of terrorists in Afghanistan.’

“Zalmay tells both, ‘We are afraid of terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.’”

• April 17: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Russian supreme court removed the Taliban from the country’s list of terrorist organizations on the order of President Vladimir Putin. The post claimed that this action was taken to allow further Russian-Taliban counter-terrorism cooperation.

“Follow-ups. Officially, the Russian supreme court, upon [Vladimir] Putin’s instructions, has removed the Afghan Taliban from the terrorist list.

“Russian intelligence official says the removal of the movement from the terrorist list is to enable us to work together to combat terrorists.”

• April 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified individuals burned down the home of Pakistani politician Iqbal Wazir in North Waziristan. See https://tribune.com.pk/story/2540811/mpas-hujra-set-on-fire-in-north-waziristan.

“News. In the Shewa area of ​​North Waziristan, gunmen burned down the home of Pakistani provincial parliament member Iqbal Wazir.”

• April 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen killed three Shiite men in Kurram District, Parachinar, Pakistan. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1905142/three-killed-several-missing-after-kurram-convoy-attack.  

“Urgent. Gunmen set up a security checkpoint in the Dad Qamar area of ​​Kurram District in Parachinar, Pakistan, and killed three Shiite men on their way to Peshawar.

“The victims traveled this route after fears that they might take the Lower Kurram Highway, which they believed was safer.”

• April 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that four Taliban officials, including members of the intelligence service, were killed on the Kandahar–Takhar Road, allegedly on their way to meet with Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

“News. Local sources: Four Taliban officials were killed in a road accident on the Kandahar–Takhar Road.

“According to the sources, the accident occurred when the officials traveled to the province to visit and meet with Taliban leader [Hibatullah] Akhundzada.

“Among those killed in the accident were Taliban intelligence officials.”

• April 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Sher Ali, a Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) commander, was killed in Aion Mina district, Kandahar.

“Urgent: Gunmen assassinate Sher Ali, a leader of the Afghan [sic] Taliban in the Aion Mina district of Kandahar, Afghanistan.”

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements

• April 15: ISIS claims to have killed three Pakistani police officers and wounded 19 in an attack on a bus in Mastung, Balochistan. Please note that the Nashir claim of responsibility below notes this attack as being committed in Pakistan and not Khurasan.

“More than 20 apostate Pakistani police officers killed and wounded in a bombing by the Caliphate soldiers in Balochistan.

“Province of Pakistan. By the grace of God Almighty, Caliphate soldiers blew up a motorcycle parked on [next to a] a bus carrying apostate Pakistani police officers on Dasht road in the Mastung district of ​​Balochistan, killing three officers and wounding 19 others. Praise be to God.”

• April 15: ISIS claims to have killed a Shiite in Quetta, Balochistan. Please note that the Nashir claim of responsibility below notes this attack as being committed in Pakistan and not Khurasan.

“Wilayat Pakistan. By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted one of the apostate Rafidis [a derogatory name for Shiites] with a pistol in the Bypass East area in ​​the city of Quetta in Balochistan, which led to his death, praise be to God.”

4. Pro-ISIS Al-Hadid Infographic, Released April 14, 2025

• The infographic accuses the Taliban of hypocrisy and befriending the U.S., Russia, China, and India.

5. Pro-ISIS Al-Hadid Infographic, Released April 14, 2025

• The infographic accuses the Taliban of not implementing religious law. The infographic states that the Taliban have not sentenced adulterers, so-called sorcerers, gay men, those who consume alcohol, or thieves according to religious law. 

  • The infographic also accuses the Taliban of corruption, seeking to make alliances and friendships with non-Sunnis, and taking U.S. money while ignoring atrocities in Palestine, East Turkestan, and other areas.