Afghanistan Content Report: May 17 – 23, 2025

Afghanistan Content Report 

May 17 – 23, 2025

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

Table of contents 

  1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 496, Published May 22, 2025
  2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
  3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements 

 

Main points (Pro-ISIS Online Chatter) 

Afghanistan

  • Unidentified persons killed a man in Helmand province.
  • Unidentified individuals killed a Taliban Air Force spokesperson, Mohammadullah Shaheen, in Herat.
  • Taliban leaders met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran to discuss security and economic cooperation as well as water rights regarding the Helmand River.
  • The U.S. is allegedly considering abandoning its commitments in the Doha Agreement and listing the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization.
  • The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program has offered a bounty for disrupting ISIS-K finances.
  • It is unclear if the Taliban government or the government of Pakistan transferred four individuals to the custody of Azerbaijan. The four individuals are accused of being members of ISIS and having received training and fighting in the Pakistan–Afghanistan border region.
  • An earthquake was reported in Kabul.
  • The Taliban donated a large quantity of marble to the Uzbek government for the renovation of the Imam Bukhari complex. 

Pakistan

  • Unidentified gunmen killed a top leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Sindh province.
  • One member of the Pakistani security forces was killed and three were wounded in an attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan.
  • Several civilians were killed or wounded in a bombing allegedly committed by the Pakistani Taliban in Balochistan.
  • Unidentified militants murdered a man who allegedly worked for Pakistani intelligence in Balochistan.
  • An explosion killed five people and wounded four in Balochistan. 

 

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 496, Published May 22, 2025 

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

 

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter 

Text: “In a significant political shift, President Emomali Rahmon recently signed a law decriminalizing social media engagement with content deemed ‘extremist’ or ‘terrorist,’ including liking or commenting on such posts. This legislative shift follows a period in which more than 1,500 citizens were imprisoned for precisely this online activity, with many receiving harsh penalties for minor digital interactions.” 

“Follow-ups. Tajikistan repeals law criminalizing social media interaction with ‘terrorist’ material.” 

may 18 pro isis telegram tajikistan
  • May 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified individuals killed a man in Helmand. 

“Urgent. An armed attack in the Afghan province of Helmand targeted a person, resulting in his immediate death.” 

 

  • May 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban consul general in the Iranian city of Mashhad died of a heart attack.   

“Follow-ups. The Afghan consul general in the Iranian city of Mashhad, a Taliban leader [named] 

Faizanullah Naseri, died in an Iranian hospital after suffering a heart attack.” 

May 18 Telegram Taliban consul general
  • May 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that one member of the Pakistani security forces was killed and three were wounded in an attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. 

“Urgent. A [member of] Pakistani security [forces] was killed and three others were injured in an armed attack in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.” 

 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate Abu Saifullah, a leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Pakistani Muslim Brotherhood, near Phalkara Chowk, Sindh.” 

 

“Follow-ups. In pictures: Afghan Taliban leaders were hosted by the Iranian president on Sunday to discuss several topics, including security cooperation to combat terrorism, signing economic contracts, and discussing the water issue. 

“Afghan officials told Iran that they have the full right to benefit from the waters of the Helmand River, and they cannot prevent them from using it.” 

May 18 telegram Taliban met with Iran president
  • May 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that several civilians were killed or wounded in a bombing allegedly committed by the Pakistani Taliban in Balochistan. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1911806. 

“Urgent. Several civilians were killed and injured in an explosion carried out by the Pakistani Taliban in the Qila Abdullah district of Balochistan.” 

 

  • May 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified militants murdered a man who allegedly worked for Pakistani intelligence in Balochistan. 

“Urgent: Gunmen assassinated a barber accused of collaborating with intelligence in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.” 

 

  • May 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the Taliban killed civilians in their homes following their takeover of Afghanistan. The post alleged that the Taliban “sent false coordinates to U.S. aircraft,” referring to an August 29, 2021, drone strike that killed civilians, including children, in Kabul. There is no evidence that the Taliban provided coordinates to the U.S. The Telegram post compares the Taliban to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, claiming that the U.S. is now giving him orders. 

“Observers. At the beginning of the U.S. handover of power in Afghanistan to the Taliban, the Taliban launched daily attacks on homes. Everyone remembers the women and children killed at the time. They even sent false coordinates to U.S. aircraft to bomb a house they said housed the mastermind of the terrorist attack at Kabul Airport, which killed 13 U.S. soldiers and officers and injured more than 40 Marines. When the U.S. bombed it, it turned out the house belonged to civilians. 

“In general, we remember those campaigns, and we see the campaigns that followed the U.S. and 

Israel’s handover of power in Syria to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who also began like the Taliban. When he returned from the Riyadh meeting with Trump, his campaigns against ‘suspected terrorists’ intensified. This demonstrates that the orders are clear and come from a single source.” 

 

  • May 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified individuals killed a Taliban Air Force spokesperson, Mohammadullah Shaheen, in Herat. 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate the Taliban’s Air Force spokesman, Mohammadullah Shaheen, in the Zendeh Jan district of Herat, Afghanistan.” 

 

“Urgent. A major earthquake is hitting the Afghan capital, Kabul, now.” 

 

  • May 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that small arms transferred from Qatar to the Taliban “evaporated” and were diverted. It is unclear specifically what the Telegram post is referring to;  possibly this X post: https://x.com/Punk319/status/1924442534454903016.   

“Follow-ups. U.S. intelligence sources: The Qatari government gifted the Afghan Taliban with 12 shipments of American M4 rifles, all of which evaporated, and we do not know where they went.” 

 

  • May 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar—who also serves as acting first deputy prime minister for economic affairs—met with Akhmat Kadyrov, the son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Abubakr Edelgerie, during the Russian–Afghan Business Forum in Kazan. 

“Follow-ups. During the Russian–Afghan Business Forum in Kazan, Kadyrov’s son Akhmat, Chechnya’s sports chief, and Putin’s aide, Abubakr Edelgeriev, met with [the] Afghan deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar.” 

May 19 pro-isis telegram Taliban Deputy Prime Minister
  • May 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that an explosion killed five people and wounded four in Balochistan. The post noted that the Pakistani government accused India of bearing responsibility for the attack. 

“Urgent. An explosion targeted a bus in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, killing five people and wounding four. The Pakistani government accuses India of orchestrating the attack.” 

 

  • May 22: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the U.S. is reneging on the Doha Agreement despite the Taliban’s fulfillment of “all its promises to America regarding combatting terrorism.” See https://amu.tv/175588/. 

Text: “The White House is moving to designate the Afghan Taliban as a ‘foreign terrorist organization.’ The U.S. administration is moving to designate the Afghan Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization after the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 led to the group’s return to power in the country. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the United States is considering designating the Taliban as ’a foreign terrorist organization. I think that designation is now under review again.’ This came when Republican Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee asked him whether the United States would designate the Taliban as a ‘foreign terrorist organization,’ according to Reuters. The U.S. withdrawal paved the way for the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, two decades after the U.S. invasion toppled its first government.” 

“Follow-ups. America is backing down on the Doha Agreement with the Taliban. The Taliban has fulfilled all its promises to America regarding combatting terrorism and cooperation in this field, but it appears that America is dissatisfied with the Taliban’s performance and has begun threatening to use the whip of sanctions.” 

 

“Follow-ups. After years of denying this to the media, a website affiliated with the Afghan National 

Taliban movement has acknowledged the Taliban’s participation in the major U.S.-British military campaign against terrorism [ISIS-K] in Nangarhar Province, the famous Battle of Jalalabad several years ago, led by their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour.”

 

  • May 22: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram mocking the Taliban and the U.S., asking whether the Taliban will ask the government of Qatar to advocate on their behalf, and noting the recent gift of a luxury 747 aircraft from Qatar to the U.S. 

“Observers. In the coming days, we will see Taliban officials shuttle between Kabul and Doha to implore Qatari officials to mediate on behalf of the Taliban government with the United States. Perhaps they will remind them of the plane gift or request another gift to maintain American satisfaction with the Afghan nationalist Taliban movement.” 

 

“Follow-ups. The U.S. Treasury [sic] says it has offered a $10 million reward for information or assistance in uncovering how funds are being transferred to terrorists in Afghanistan who allegedly kill civilians (Hazaras). The Treasury also offered a $5 million reward for information on a German [sic] woman of 

Somali origin who established a religious institute for female terrorists in Iraq, Syria, and Somalia. The Treasury has offered $10 million for a man it says facilitates financial operations for terrorists. It has also offered $10 million for information on terrorist financial and administrative networks in West Africa.”

May 22 Pro-ISIS Telegram U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program
  • May 22: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban transferred four people accused of being terrorists to the government of Azerbaijan. The post noted that the individuals had been in the “mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan” and that the Azerbaijani government cooperates with Israel. It is unclear if the individuals were in the custody of Afghanistan or Pakistan before being transferred to Azerbaijan. See https://dtx.gov.az/en/news/1846.html. 

“Follow-ups. Asian sources: Afghan Taliban intelligence today handed over to Azerbaijani intelligence four individuals it described as ‘terrorists’ who had fled Azerbaijan due to security persecution to the mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is worth noting that the Israeli Mossad trains Azerbaijani intelligence, and its government is one of the most senior governments cooperating with Israel at the highest levels.” 

 

  • May 22: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban praised Cheryl Benard, the wife of former 

    U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, after she criticized U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The post claimed that Benard stated that women work outside of the home in Afghanistan. See https://amu.tv/176105/. 

“Follow-ups. The official Taliban government website praises the testimony and defense of women by Shirley Barnard [sic], a member of the Rand Corporation and a well-known feminist and LGBT rights advocate. Barnard is a writer for the Times of Israel, known for her support for Israel’s war on Gaza, and the wife of U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (who brokered the deal to hand over Afghanistan to the Taliban and said that the Haqqani Network provided the U.S. with the coordinates of al-Zawahiri’s location to complete the deal). 

“The official Taliban website reported: ‘In an article published in the National Interest, Shirley Barnard, the wife of former U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, criticized the position of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noam. Barnard explained that, after her visit to Kabul last month, women run their own shops in markets, work in restaurants, and even sell fruit on the streets. She emphasized that denial of women’s activities in Afghanistan reflects an inaccurate picture.” 

 

  • May 23: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram regarding the recent exchange between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Representative Tim Burchett, in which Rubio was asked whether the U.S. would classify the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization. 

“Follow-ups. In a recent meeting, U.S. Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio and Timothy Floyd Burchett, the U.S. representative for Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District, discussed the ongoing transfer of funds to the Afghan Taliban since 2021 to fight terrorism. [President] Trump recently halted the funds due to the ineffectiveness of the Taliban’s war on terrorism.” 

 

  • May 23: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that three people were killed in Tirah Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but that the reason is not known. 

“Urgent: Gunmen kill three people in the Tirah Valley area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The motive for the attack is unknown.” 

 

  • May 23: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban donated 16 truckloads worth of marble to the Uzbek government for renovating the Imam Bukhari complex. See https://darakchi.uz/en/200082. 

“Follow-ups. The Afghan Taliban government donates 16 trucks loaded with the finest marble to the government of Uzbekistan for the renovation of the Imam Bukhari shrine.” 

 

  • May 23: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that a former Afghan Air Force officer, Mohammad Amir Tavasoli, killed himself after Iran ordered his deportation. 

“Follow-ups. A former Afghan Air Force officer, Mohammad Amir Tavasoli, committed suicide in the Iranian city of Mashhad after the Iranian government informed him of his deportation from the country.” 

 

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements 

•            There were no Amaq/Nashir claims of responsibility for Afghanistan between May 17 and 23. 

Counterpoint Series
Afghanistan