Afghanistan Content Report

April 5 – 11, 2025

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

Table of contents

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 490, Published April 10, 2025
2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements

Main points (Pro-ISIS Online Chatter)

Afghanistan

• The U.S. allegedly accessed Bagram Air Base.
• There were several explosions in Kunduz on April 6, 10, and 11.
• There were two explosions in Baghlan, potentially from U.S. drones or aircraft from another country.
• A facility in Kandahar, allegedly an intelligence headquarters being used by the Pakistani Taliban, was attacked.

Pakistan

• A top-level Pakistani Taliban commander, Hafizullah, a.k.a. ‘Kochwanin,’ was killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• A member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Maulvi Imdadullah Shah, was murdered by unidentified gunmen in Kalat district, Balochistan.
• A religious scholar, Qari Ijaz Abid, was killed by unidentified gunmen. Another religious scholar, Qari Shahid, was wounded in the same attack.
• Three people, including a police commissioner, were killed in an attack on a law enforcement vehicle in Quetta.

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 489, Published April 3, 2025

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

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter

• April 5: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the Taliban has started to give U.S. intelligence agencies access to Bagram Air Base. The post likely refers to a U.S. military C-17 cargo plane that allegedly landed at Bagram Air Base, reportedly carrying senior U.S. intelligence officials and military equipment. The Taliban has denied that the facility has been turned over to the U.S. See https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/afghanistan-us-military-plane-taliban-bagram-kabul-b2729391.html; https://qaisalamdar.substack.com/p/the-us-air-force-covert-c-17-mission. 

Text: “Reports indicate that the Afghan Taliban movement has handed over control of Bagram Air Base to the United States. Sources stated that an American Mi-17 [sic] aircraft landed at the base, transporting vehicles and equipment. It is worth noting that one of the aircraft is believed to have been carrying the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Follow-ups. Media outlets are reporting that the Taliban’s national government has begun handing over Bagram Air Base to the CIA.”

• April 5: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified gunmen murdered an individual inside a store in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate a person inside a shop in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.”

• April 6: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that aviation tracking websites showed two U.S. cargo planes landing at Bagram Air Base.

“Monitoring. The Taliban’s denial is contradicted by an aviation website showing two American cargo planes landing at Bagram Air Base.”

• April 6: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified gunmen murdered Hafiz Abid, a religious scholar affiliated with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) in Peshawar. It is likely that this information is incorrect and that Hafiz Abid’s brother, Zahid Shah, was the one killed.

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate Hafiz Abid [Shah], a leader of the Pakistan Democratic Ulema Party [sic], in the Achini Payan area of ​​Peshawar.”

• April 6: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there was an unidentified explosion in Khan Abad, Kunduz.

“Urgent. An explosion occurred near an Afghan National Taliban checkpoint in the Khan Abad district of Kunduz province.”

• April 6: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Maulvi Imdadullah Shah, was murdered by unidentified gunmen in Kalat district, Balochistan. The post noted that the man who was assassinated is a cousin of the JUI-F district chief, as well as a cousin of the JUI-F provincial secretary general.

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate a member of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Demirat [Democratic Islamic Scholars Party] [sic], Maulvi Imdadullah Shah, in Pandran, Kalat, Balochistan province, Pakistan.

“The target is a cousin of the district official of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Demirat and a cousin of the provincial secretary general of Balochistan.

“It is worth noting that the party has lost many of its leaders and members, and terrorists have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.”

• April 7: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram noting that ISIS has focused on attacking JUI-F in Pakistan because of the latter’s links to the Afghan Taliban and their participation in Pakistani elections.

“#Comment. Recently, members of the so-called ‘Association of Islamic Democratic Scholars’ (ASD) [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl] have been subjected to several targeted attacks, the most notable of which were carried out by the Islamic State–Khorasan Province [ISKP] against the party’s leaders and political gatherings. One of the most notable of these operations was the bombing that occurred last July in the Bajaur region, carried out by a member of the group [ISKP] wearing an explosive belt, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of party members.

“The Islamic State group considers them [JUI-F] a primary target due to its overt affiliation with the Afghan Taliban and its participation in the democratic project that contradicts monotheism.

“These operations demonstrate the growing tension between the Islamic State group and those who support the infidels and apostates. The Islamic State does not fight for power or nationalism, but rather to establish God’s law in the country and control governance as God has commanded, far removed from political ideologies and national interests.”

• April 7: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there was an unidentified explosion in Mazar-i-Sharif.

“Urgent. An explosion targeted a Taliban checkpoint in Journalists’ Square in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.”

• April 7: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a religious scholar, Qari Ijaz Abid, was killed by unidentified gunmen and that another religious scholar, Qari Shahid, was wounded. The post noted that Deobandi religious figures have been targeted in Pakistan. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1902755.

“Update. The deceased was Qari Ijaz Abid, a member of the Tehreek Khatm-e-Nabuwwat group, while his companion, Qari Shahid, was seriously injured.

“Recently, a series of targeted assassinations has spread across the country, targeting religious figures particularly associated with the Deobandi school of thought.

“Deobandis are a Hanafi sect prevalent in the Indian subcontinent. They follow an Ashari/Maturidi doctrinal approach that believes in the intercession of the dead and seeking their help. This ideology is shared by the Taliban, both Afghan and Pakistani, and some local parties in Pakistan.”

• April 7: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there were two explosions in Baghlan “coinciding with intense U.S. drone flights over the province.” 

“Urgent. Two violent explosions rocked the Afghan province of Baghlan, coinciding with intense U.S. drone flights over the province.”

• April 9: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there was an unidentified explosion in eastern Mazar-i-Sharif. 

“Urgent: An explosion rocks the eastern part of Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan.”

• April 9: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that a “security command building” in Khost was attacked with a missile.

“Urgent. A ground-to-ground missile attack targets the security command building in the Afghan city of Khost.”

• April 9: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that a Taliban checkpoint was attacked with an explosive in Taloqan, Takhar. 

“Urgent. An explosion targeted a checkpoint of the Afghan National Taliban forces in the Gulayi Bagh area of ​​Takhar province.”

• April 9: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that three people, including a police commissioner, were killed in an attack on a law enforcement vehicle in Quetta.

“Urgent. Gunmen attacked a Pakistani police vehicle in the Sariab area of ​​Quetta, killing three people, including a commissioner.”

• April 10: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there was an explosion near a Taliban security headquarters in Kandahar.

“Urgent: Explosion near Taliban National Security Headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan.”

• April 10: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram with photos and videos showing the aftermath of the explosion in Kandahar.

“Update. The aftermath of the Kandahar explosion targeting the city’s security headquarters.”

• April 10: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the Kandahar explosion hit an intelligence facility “affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban [Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)].”

“Update. Local sources: The explosion targeted a ‘secret’ intelligence headquarters affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.”

• April 10: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there was an unidentified explosion in Kunduz.

“Urgent. An explosion rocks the second security zone in Kunduz, Afghanistan.”

• April 10: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a top-level Pakistani Taliban commander, Hafizullah, a.k.a. ‘Kochwanin,’ was killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. See https://tribune.com.pk/story/2539288/high-value-target-among-two-terrorists-killed-by-security-forces-in-timergara-operation.

“Urgent: Gunmen assassinate senior Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] leader Hafizullah [a.k.a.] ‘Kochwanin,’ in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.”

• April 11: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there was another explosion in Kunduz.

“Urgent. Explosion near a Taliban checkpoint in Kunduz, Afghanistan.”

• April 11: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified militants killed a Pakistani soldier in North Waziristan.

“Urgent. Militants assassinate a Pakistani army soldier in North Waziristan.”

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements

• There were no Amaq/Nashir claims of responsibility for Afghanistan between April 5 and 11.