Afghanistan Content Report 

May 24 – 30, 2025

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

Table of contents 

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 497, Published May 29, 2025
2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements
4. ISIS-K-Linked Al-Azaim Video “The Mastung Incident and the Infidels’ Conspiracy,” Released on May 25, 2025 

Main points (Pro-ISIS Online Chatter) 

Afghanistan

• Unidentified individuals murdered two Taliban members in Paktia.
• Tensions have increased between Taliban officials in Badakhshan province regarding ethnic discrimination and language policies.
• Taliban and Pakistani soldiers have clashed in the border region in Helmand province.
• A post alleged that the Tajik government will soon launch attacks on ISIS positions or camps in the Tajik–Afghan border region.
• The Taliban has not paid government salaries for two months following the cutoff of U.S. aid payments to Afghanistan.
• The Taliban sent envoys to an international security meeting in Russia between May 27 and 29. 

Pakistan

• ISIS-K has declared war on Baloch separatist groups.
• Unidentified gunmen murdered a Pakistani journalist, Abdul Latif Baloch, in his home in Balochistan.
• Five Pakistani soldiers were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on their checkpoint in South Waziristan.
• Fifteen people were injured in an attack by unknown individuals using a commercially available quadcopter drone in South Waziristan.
• A Pakistani army patrol was attacked with an explosive in Kech District, Balochistan, and an army patrol was also assaulted with explosives near Quetta.
• Unidentified individuals killed two members of the Pakistani security forces and injured seven others in an attack in North Waziristan.
• Unidentified gunmen killed a Pakistani Ministry of Interior officer in South Waziristan. 

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 497, Published May 29, 2025 

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

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter 

• May 24: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Iran announced that it had built 100 kilometers of a border wall with Afghanistan to prevent terrorist groups from entering. See 

  https://www.khaama.com/iran-completes-100-km-smart-border-wall-with-afghanistan-in-razavikhorasan/. 

“Iran announces the completion of 100 kilometers of a wall along the Iranian border with Afghanistan, fearing terrorist infiltration.”  

• May 24: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen murdered a Pakistani journalist, Abdul Latif Baloch, in his home in Balochistan. See  https://www.ifj.org/mediacentre/reports/detail/pakistan-journalist-killed-by-militia-in-balochistan/category/press-releases.

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate Pakistani journalist Abdul Latif Baloch inside his home in Balochistan.” 

• May 24: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that five Pakistani soldiers were wounded in an IED attack on their checkpoint in South Waziristan. 

“Urgent. Five soldiers were injured in an IED explosion near a military checkpoint in South Waziristan, Pakistan.” 

• May 24: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that tensions between Taliban officials in Afghanistan’s 

  Badakhshan province have escalated, with two senior officials, Mullah Salahuddin Salar and Mullah Abdul Rab Arsh, calling for mobilization against Qari Ayub Khalid, the province’s Taliban governor. 

  Salar has criticized the Taliban’s discrimination against non-Pashtuns and language policies. The Badakhshan governor’s office responded by requiring that they be notified in advance of any meetings taking place. The incident reflects ethnic and regional divides within the Taliban. See https://www.afintl.com/en/202505291231. 

“Follow-ups. Local sources reported that tensions between Taliban officials in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province have increased. Two senior officials, Mullah Salahuddin Salar, the deputy director of the Ministry of Defense Intelligence, and Mullah Abdul Rab Arsh, the director of criminal investigations at the Ministry of Defense, have called for the mobilization of Badakhshan forces against Qari Ayub Khalid, the Taliban governor of the province. 

“Sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday that Taliban officials had called on their supporters to hold a mass rally in the Baharak district and take action against the Taliban governor. 

“Mullah Salahuddin Salar has repeatedly criticized the Taliban’s systematic discrimination against non-Pashtuns, especially in Badakhshan, stating that local people and authorities do not even understand each other’s language. 

“In response to these actions, the Badakhshan governor’s office ordered that no one be allowed to hold a meeting without coordination with official Taliban institutions. 

“This move reflects Taliban officials’ concerns about the intensification of ethnic and organizational divisions within the national movement. 

“In recent months, criticism of ethnic and administrative discrimination within the Taliban structure has intensified.” 

• May 24: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the Taliban has not paid government salaries for two months following the cutoff of U.S. aid payments to Afghanistan. 

Text: “Sources: The Taliban has not paid government employees two months’ [accumulated] salaries yet.” 

“Follow-ups. For two months now, the Afghan Taliban’s national government has been suffering from a lack of cash to fund the salaries of its members and employees due to Trump’s cutoff of the weekly U.S. aid.” 

• May 25: Pro-ISIS post on RocketChat stating that Baloch separatist organizations attacked an ISIS camp in Mastung, Balochistan, in mid-March, killing all ISIS terrorists present. The post noted that ISIS had previously not prioritized fighting Baloch separatist groups, despite opposing them, in order to focus on more critical enemies. Following the Mastung attack, ISIS has changed course and announced it will attack Baloch nationalist groups. See https://thebalochistanpost.net/2025/05/iskpdeclares-war-on-baloch-pro-independence-armed-groups/.

“A few weeks ago, Baloch nationalist organizations attacked a place of the Caliphate in Mastung according to a joint plan of the United States and the Taliban. The attack lasted for three days, because of which all the brothers present in the center ran out of weapons, and all of them reached martyrdom. May Allah accept us all. 

“After the attack, [Zalmay] Khalilzad, a loyal U.S. ally [sic], praised this attack by these patriotic rebel militias, and the United States assured further cooperation. 

“The policy of the Islamic State is that it does not take the initiative in the war against every enemy, but rather, adopting its regional politics and war tactics gives priority and importance to those enemies who cause the most harm to Islam and Muslims. Therefore, the Baloch patriotic apostate organizations had not taken any action against the Mujahideen to date, so the Mujahideen were silent about them. 

“Now that these apostates have acted first, a great action will be started by the Mujahideen to take revenge [for] their brothers and to cleanse the Balochistan region of these apostate nationalist militias, God willing. 

“Such incidents further strengthen faith and belief that although these infidels have differences among themselves and fight each other, all the infidels and polytheists unite against the true believers and the monotheists, putting aside all their differences and hatred and fighting unitedly against the Mujahideen. We are seeing the polytheists, apostates, and infidels in the practical form of the ‘single nation of infidels’ today. Praise be to God. Faith and infidels are spreading in every corner of the world. The tents of the Muslims are being separated; in the future, these wars will be fought between the Muslims and the polytheists; on one side, there will be the flag of monotheism, while on the other side, there will be the flag of polytheism and disbelief. 

“Although such incidents are sad and regrettable in appearance, such incidents are a great blessing for the believers, the monotheists, and the Mujahideen. They purify the ranks, the beliefs of the 

Mujahideen further flourish, and all kinds of hypocrisy, polytheism, and misguidance are removed from their ranks, praise be to God.” 

• May 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the Tajik government will soon launch attacks on ISIS positions or camps in the Tajik–Afghan border region. 

“Follow-ups. Intelligence sources say the Tajik government is preparing a security operation targeting terrorist sites on the border with Afghanistan.” 

• May 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban will send envoys to an international security meeting taking place between May 27 and 29 in Russia. Informal discussions are planned for representatives from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). See https://tass.com/politics/1963351. 

“Follow-ups. For the first time, a security delegation from the Afghan Taliban government will participate in the Russian Security Forum in Moscow to discuss terrorist threats in the region.” 

• May 27: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that 15 people were injured in an attack by unknown individuals using a commercially available quadcopter drone in South Waziristan. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1913695. 

“Urgent. Fifteen people were injured when a drone used for filming detonated a bomb at a gathering in the Birmil area of South Waziristan, Pakistan. The motive for the attack is not yet known.” 

• May 27: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Abdul Rahman Fida has been appointed Afghanistan’s consul general to the United Arab Emirates. See https://www.afintl.com/en/202505286835. 

“Follow-ups. The Afghan Taliban government appoints Abdul Rahman Fida as its consul general to the United Arab Emirates.” 

• May 27: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified individuals murdered two Taliban members in Paktia. 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinate two members of the Afghan Taliban in Paktia province and seize their property.” 

• May 28: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a Pakistani army patrol was attacked with an explosive in Kech District, Balochistan, and an army patrol was also assaulted with explosives near Quetta. The post does not state who is responsible for either attack. 

“Urgent. An explosive device detonated, targeting an army patrol in the Zamoran area of Kech District in Pakistan’s Balochistan [province], resulting in deaths and injuries. 

“An explosive device detonated, targeting an army patrol near Quetta, Pakistan, resulting in the death of at least one soldier.” 

• May 28: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified “militants” killed two members of the Pakistani security forces and injured seven others in an attack on a “security post” in North Waziristan. 

“Urgent: Militants attack a Pakistani security post in the Shawal area of North Waziristan, killing two and wounding seven others.” 

• May 28: Pro-ISIS post on Element stating that ISIS has declared war on Baloch separatist groups in Pakistan. The post alleged that “Many Indian, Afghan, and Baloch figures have accused IS [Islamic 

  State] of secretly allying with Pakistani security services, albeit without offering any evidence.” 

• May 29: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Taliban soldiers and Pakistani forces have fought in Helmand “due to ethnic border disputes.” 

“Urgent. Due to ethnic border disputes, clashes erupt between Afghan Taliban forces and Pakistani troops in the Helmand region.” 

• May 29: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that both Pakistani and Afghan soldiers in Helmand were armed with American weapons. 

“Update. Part of the clash between the Pakistani and Afghan sides, both of which were supplied with American weapons by the United States.” 

• May 29: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram regarding a recent statement by Saeedullah Saeed, a senior Taliban commander, that only the supreme leader of Afghanistan can declare fighting outside of Afghanistan’s borders permissible. See https://tribune.com.pk/story/2548244/afghan-taliban-warnkhawarij-against-violent-attacks-in-pakistan.

• May 29: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen killed a Pakistani Ministry of Interior officer in South Waziristan. 

“Urgent: Gunmen assassinate a Pakistani Ministry of Interior officer as he was returning home in the Wana area of South Waziristan.” 

• May 29: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a delegation of ambassadors, accompanied by Iranian government personnel, paid their condolences at a Taliban consulate in Mashhad following the May 19 death of Faizanullah Nasiri due to a heart condition. 

“Update. Photos: Several ambassadors to Iran, led by an Iranian government delegation, visited the Taliban headquarters in the Iranian city of Mashhad and offered condolences on the death of Faizanullah Nasiri.” 

• May 30: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram mocking the Taliban after Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund asked Afghans “to pray for the salvation and victory of the Mujahideen and the Palestinian people.” See https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-194486. 

Text: “Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund called on the Afghan people to recite the Holy Quran in sympathy with the people of Gaza and to pray for the salvation and victory of the Mujahideen and the Palestinian people.” 

“Follow-ups. This is how the Afghan Taliban wants to help the people of Gaza.” 

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements 

•            There were no Amaq/Nashir claims of responsibility for Afghanistan between May 24 and 30. 

4. ISIS-K-Linked Al-Azaim Video “The Mastung Incident and the Infidels’ Conspiracy,” Released on May 25, 2025 

On May 25, ISIS-K-linked Al-Azaim Media released an approximately 36-minute video stating that they would attack Baloch separatist groups in Pakistan. The video, which included previously released footage from official ISIS videos, blamed Baloch nationalists for killing ISIS-K members in Mastung district in March and stated that Baloch separatist groups and their supporters would be targeted. The video condemned these groups for fighting for ethnic and patriotic reasons rather than out of religious motives. 

On April 15, ISIS claimed two attacks in Balochistan: the killing of a Shiite man in Quetta and an attack on a bus carrying Pakistani police officers in Mastung, killing three and wounding 19. On May 11, Al-Azaim released a 218-page book in Pashto condemning nationalist groups, mainly directed at the Taliban.