Afghanistan Content Report

September 14–20, 2024

Please note all items in this issue concern ISIS-K

Table of contents

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 461, Published September 19, 2024
2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements
4. ISIS-K Linked Al-Azaim Web Magazine Voice of Khorasan Issue 39, Released on September 20, 2024 

Main points (Pro-ISIS online chatter)

• Human Rights Watch has noted that over 700 Shiite Hazaras have been killed in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
• The Taliban is afraid that ISIS has infiltrated their ranks and that Taliban members will defect.
• There was an attack using explosives in Kabul.
• One Taliban member was killed and three were injured after a military vehicle was attacked with explosives in Kabul.
• The Taliban appointed a new intelligence chief for Kabul province.
• Unidentified individuals killed a tribal chief in Kandahar.
• A Taliban member was attacked with a grenade in Qala-e-Naw, Baghdis.
• Pro-ISIS Telegram channels will sometimes report on attacks of interest that ISIS has not claimed.
• ISIS took credit for killing five Shiites in Rustam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• The bodies of three Taliban soldiers were found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Multiple attacks on police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• The killing of someone allegedly working for Pakistani intelligence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

   

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 461, Published September 19, 2024

• “20 apostate Shiites killed and others injured in two separate attacks by the Caliphate soldiers in Khorasan.”

“About 20 Rafidah [a derogatory term for Shiites] were killed, and a number of others were injured, in two separate attacks by Islamic State soldiers in Khorasan Province, despite the Taliban militia’s continued security alert to secure the Rafidah polytheistic seasons and occasions that are full of abuse of Muslims.”

• “15 Rafidis Killed in Central Afghanistan.”

“In the details, with the help of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate attacked on Thursday (6 Rabi’ al-Awwal) a group of apostate Rafidis in the village of Qariodal near the Daykundi region in central Afghanistan with machine guns, which resulted in the killing of 15 Rafidis and the wounding of six others. The Mujahideen returned to their positions safely, and praise be to God. The attack occurred while this group of Rafidis was heading to receive another group that had just returned from Karbala in Iraq after performing their polytheistic rituals.

“The media office of the Khorasan Province published pictures of the attack showing the Mujahideen shooting at the Rafidis from close range and killing them, and praise be to God. It is noteworthy that there are official connections and links between the representatives of the Rafidis in Afghanistan and the Rafidis of Iraq and the Levant. Coordination is taking place between them at various levels, most notably the military level, where Afghan Rafidis are constantly sent to the ranks of the militias are joining and escaping the Rafidah [sic], which has been fighting against Muslims in Iraq and the Levant for years, with Iranian support and guidance.” 

• “The Taliban sympathizes with the Rafidah.”

“Following the attack, the militia spokesman said he received the news of the Rafidah’s killing ‘with great sadness and grief,’ while another militia official said an official delegation from the militia had headed to the area ‘to express its sympathy’ with the Rafidah who were killed in the attack. The Taliban strives to protect and secure the Rafidah, especially during their polytheistic seasons, which are not without insulting the Prophet’s companions and offending Muslims, while the militia devotes itself to fighting the Mujahideen who confront the Rafidah threat threatening the region.”

• “Rafidah killed by Mujahideen [gun]fire in the village of Qariodal near the Daikundi region”

• “Five Rafidis killed in the second attack.”

“In the same context, on Saturday (11 Rabi’ al-Awwal), the soldiers of the Caliphate raided a house of the apostate Rafidis near their temple in the town of Rustam in the Mardan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and slaughtered five of them. They returned to their positions safely, and praise be to God. The Rafidis use this house as a reception and sleeping place for the Rafidis who go to the nearby temple to perform their Rafidi rituals.”

• “Pakistani intelligence spy injured.”

“Security-wise, on Sunday (12 Rabi’ al-Awwal), the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a spy of the apostate Pakistani intelligence in the town of Bara in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region with machine guns, which resulted in his injury, praise be to God.”

• “The house of the Rafidah that was raided and burned by the Mujahideen in the town of Rustam in the Mardan region.”

• “Last week.”

“The soldiers of the Caliphate in the Khorasan Province injured seven members of the apostate Pakistani police and one of the apostate mukhtars [village leaders] and killed one of his guards in two separate bombings that occurred last week in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.”

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter

• September 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the bodies of three “Taliban militants” were found in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“#Urgent. Three bodies of Taliban militants found in Bannu area of ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

• September 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that two people were killed, including a police assistant inspector general, in an attack on a Pakistani police vehicle in Quetta and that two other police officers were injured.

“#Urgent. An explosive device exploded targeting a Pakistani police vehicle near the Zamindar Hotel in the city of Quetta, which led to the death of two people, ‘one of them is an assistant inspector general,’ and the injury of two others:

“• Assistant Inspector General Zainuddin.

“• Constable Muhammad Tahir.”

• September 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Human Rights Watch (HRW) has noted that ISIS-K has killed 700 Shiite Hazaras in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. (Please see https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/13/afghanistans-hazara-community-needs-protection) 

“#Follow-ups. Human Rights Watch: More than 700 Shiites [have been] killed by terrorists in Afghanistan during the past three years.

“Taliban militia and others feel sad for Shiites.”

• September 14: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that ISIS-K has infiltrated the ranks of the Taliban and presents an “internal intellectual and security” risk.

Text: “Taliban arrests seven of its members in Herat on charges of collaborating with ISIS. Reliable sources in Herat reported that the Taliban arrested seven of its members on charges of collaborating with ISIS. Sources confirmed to the Saturday 24 Sampala [sic] newspaper that these people were arrested from Taliban military units. The Taliban in Herat has not yet commented on these arrests. The infiltration of ISIS soldiers into the ranks of the Taliban movement is one of the main concerns of this group. It is worth noting that during the past three months, more than 20 Taliban members have been arrested in Herat on charges of collaborating with ISIS.”

“#Follow-ups. The terrorists have put the Taliban militia in a state of ‘disorientation’ so that they do not know how to act, what to protect, or what to do.

“From military strikes to security strikes to intellectual strikes and now internal intellectual and security penetration.”

• September 15: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a Pakistani police officer was killed at a police station in Lahore.

“#Urgent. Armed attack targets Pakistani police officer Arshad Rauf at Islampura police station in Lahore.”

• September 16: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a local council head in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who allegedly was also affiliated with Pakistani intelligence, was killed. 

“#Urgent. An armed attack targeted the head of the local council (affiliated with Pakistani intelligence), Fidur-ur-Rahman, in the Khesari Banda area of ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which led to his immediate death.”

• September 16: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that ISIS-K injured an alleged Pakistani intelligence operative in Bara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. ISIS claimed credit for the attack the same day.

“#Pakistan. #Terrorism targeted a Pakistani intelligence agent in the town of Bara in the Khyber region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday with machine guns, wounding him.”

• September 16: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified individuals attacked “a Shiite gathering” in Parachinar, Kurram District. 

“#Urgent. An armed attack targets a Shiite gathering in the Parachinar area of ​​the Pakistani district of Kurram. It is noteworthy that the region has witnessed bloody battles between Muslims and Shiites in recent months.”

• September 17: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified gunmen killed someone in Kandahar. 

“#Urgent. Gunmen kill a person in the Afghan city of Kandahar.”

• September 17: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there was an explosion in Kabul

“#Urgent. An explosion shakes a neighborhood in the Afghan capital of Kabul.”

• September 17: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that there was an attack using explosives at the Taimani intersection in Kabul. 

“#Update. A bomb attack occurred at the Taimani intersection in the capital of Kabul, and Taliban militiamen are surrounding the scene of the incident.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that four police officers in Balochistan were injured in a grenade attack on a police station.

“#Urgent. A grenade attack targeted a Pakistani police station in Balochistan, injuring four officers with varying degrees of injuries.

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that the Taliban appointed a new intelligence chief for Kabul province. The post noted that the former head was replaced for failing “to achieve the U.S. administration’s goals of eliminating terrorism.” 

“#Follow-ups. The Taliban militia appoints a new intelligence chief in Kabul after the previous one failed to achieve the U.S. administration’s goals of eliminating terrorism.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified individuals murdered a tribal leader in Kandahar.

“#Urgent. Gunmen assassinate a tribal leader in the Afghan city of Kandahar.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that one Taliban member was killed and three others were injured after a military vehicle was attacked with explosives in Kabul.

“#Urgent. An explosion targets a military vehicle of the Taliban militia near Pamir Cinema in the first district of the Afghan capital, Kabul, which led to the death of one member and the injury of three others ‘as a preliminary result.’”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that five Shiites were killed in an attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. ISIS claimed this attack the same day.

“#Message. Five apostate Rafidis were killed in a terrorist operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest of Pakistan.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Pakistani media has claimed that the five people who died in Rustam were living in a “residence for devotees of a nearby [Shiite] shrine” and perished in a fire. The pro-ISIS post claims that the victims were guards at a Shiite temple and that ISIS terrorists set the fire.

Text: “Islamabad: At least five members of a family were killed when a fire broke out in a mud house in Rustam Bagh Jabran area of ​​Mardan early Saturday morning. According to initial reports, Rescue 1122 [Pakistani emergency service] officials said the house, built on a hill, served as a residence for devotees of a nearby shrine, private news channels reported. On receiving the information, firefighters rushed to the spot and managed to douse the fire. The bodies were later moved to the hospital.”

“#Update. The Pakistani media reported that they died in a fire at the time, so the news was not striking. It turned out that the fire was the work of terrorists and that the dead were guards of one of the temples in the village.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there was an unidentified explosion in the town of Qala-e-Naw in Baghdis Province.

“#Urgent. An explosion rocks the Qala-e-Naw area in the Afghan province of Baghdis.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram alleging that the Qala-e-Naw explosion “was caused by a hand grenade thrown at a Taliban militia member” who was injured.

“#Update. The explosion was caused by a hand grenade thrown at a Taliban militia member, wounding him.”

• September 18: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that Russia is worried about an imminent attack on their embassy in Kabul.

Text: “Urgent: Preparation for provocations and terrorist attacks against Russian embassy in Kabul. Reliable sources reported that an attack is being prepared on the Russians in Kabul.”

“#Follow-ups. Russian fears of attacks that may target its embassy in Kabul.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that “a captain and another soldier were injured when an IED disposal unit” was attacked in Makin, South Waziristan.

“#Urgent. A captain and another soldier were injured when an IED disposal unit came under fire from militants in Makin, South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram with an update on the attack in Makin by unidentified militants. The post stated that five soldiers were killed and eight were injured.

“#Update. Five Pakistani army personnel [were] killed, [and] eight [were] injured in [the] attack.

“Among the dead is an officer.

“An officer is also among the injured.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified militants murdered a Pakistani army official as he was leaving his home in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“#Urgent. Armed men shot dead Ishaq, a Pakistani army official, in Karak, ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as he was leaving his home for work this morning, and the attackers seized his weapon.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that “a road protection team was attacked” by unidentified militants in North Waziristan, resulting in three deaths.

“#Urgent. Militants in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province attacked three security personnel killed as a road protection team.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that border clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan have continued. The post noted that seven Taliban soldiers and two Pakistani border guard personnel have been killed.

Text: “Breaking News. Two Pakistani soldiers died of their wounds, and another was injured at the Ghulam Khan border crossing in North Waziristan when Afghan border guards opened fire on them. According to Pakistani officials, the incident took place when the Pakistani side was closing the border at 7:00 pm, and the Afghan border guards asked not to close the gate, which led to a verbal altercation that resulted in gunfire from the Afghan side. Local sources from Ghulam Khan told the newspaper. Heavy gunfire is still being heard from both sides.”

“The conflict of enemies continues, and this time, the clash is between the Pakistani army and the Afghan Taliban militia. The conflict on the border killed seven Taliban and two Pakistanis. Noting that there is no difference regarding rulings.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Prime Minister Hasan Akhund has requested that religious scholars do not discuss “divisive topics” such as “the rule of Shia Sufism, jihad outside the borders of Afghanistan, and the education of girls.” The post noted that the Taliban are “tyrants” and have labeled criticism as sedition.

“After the differences between the Taliban militia and its followers increased regarding issues such as the rule of Shia Sufism, jihad outside the borders of Afghanistan, and the education of girls, the prime minister of the Taliban militia issued a statement urging the so-called ‘religious scholars’ to refrain from discussing divisive topics.

“He warned that ‘the militia will not allow anyone to spread ‘sedition’ or division or conflict and will take serious measures to prevent this.’

“They are like tyrants. There is no difference between them. They call matters that concern and touch upon reality as sedition, and they listen to it and avoid talking about the principles of religion and duties because they have no argument.

“Otherwise, sedition is the greatest injustice.”

• September 19: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a member of the Pakistani army was killed in Azna Khel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“#Urgent. A gun attack targeted a Pakistani army member in the Azna Khel area of ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing him instantly.”

• September 20: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram regarding what attacks the channel reports on. The post states that “Several attacks occur and we broadcast some of them on our news channel and sometimes we do not broadcast news of the attacks” because of their location, but that recently there have been more ISIS attacks in new areas, such as Waziristan. 

“In Pakistan, there are several parties waging war with other parties. For example, the Pakistani Taliban militia is waging battles with the government to force it to sign a treaty and hand over some areas and control, as the Taliban rule Afghanistan with the approval of Pakistani and American intelligence.

“There is a Baloch force, a secular force, and another religious force. The goal of secularism is clear, and the goal of the other is the same as the goals of the Baloch force in Iran (we ask God to guide them).

“And there are the terrorists who want to rule according to what God has decreed.

“Therefore, several attacks occur, and we broadcast some of them on our news channel. Sometimes, we do not broadcast news of the attacks because the places of their attacks are considered strongholds for those forces, but we are surprised by the expansion of the terrorists to those new areas, and they become areas of operations for the terrorists, as in the recent Waziristan attacks and others.

“This is a simple explanation of the strategically important Pakistani arena.”

• September 20: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen seriously wounded a senior Pakistani intelligence officer and his brother in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

#Urgent. Gunmen opened fire on a senior Pakistani intelligence officer on Mirian Road, Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seriously wounding him and his companion ([his] brother).”

• September 20: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that there was a “bomb attack” in Taloqan. 

“#Urgent. A bomb attack rocked the city of Taloqan, Takhar, Afghanistan.”

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements

• [ISIS Pakistan] September 14: ISIS claims to have killed a Pakistani police officer and a soldier and wounded a soldier in an attack on a vehicle with explosives in the town of Kuchlak, Balochistan. 

“By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate detonated an explosive device on a vehicle of the apostate Pakistani police in the town of Kuchlak in the Quetta region in Balochistan, which led to its destruction and the killing of an officer and a soldier and the injury of another soldier, praise be to God.”

• September 16: ISIS claims to have wounded an alleged Pakistani spy in the town of Bara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in an armed attack. 

“Khorasan Province. By the grace of Allah Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a spy of the apostate Pakistani intelligence in the town of Bara in the Khyber District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday, with machine guns, which resulted in his injury, praise be to Allah.”

• September 18: ISIS claims to have murdered five Shiites after raiding a house in Rustam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The post noted that ISIS burned the home as well.

“Five Rafidis were killed in an operation by the Caliphate soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northwest Pakistan.

“By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate raided a house of the apostate Rafidis in the town of Rustam in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last Saturday and slaughtered 5 of them and then burned the house. They returned to their position safely, and praise be to God.”

4. ISIS-K Linked Al-Azaim Web Magazine Voice of Khorasan Issue 39, Released on September 20, 2024 

Summary: 

On September 20, the ISIS-K linked al-Azaim Media propaganda group released issue 39 of the English language web magazine Voice of Khorasan. The first article called for fighting in Kashmir and compared the treatment of Muslims there to the treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkistan. A translated editorial from al-Naba 454 called for lone actor attacks as a way of “confirm[ing] the failure” of anti-ISIS campaigns and also stated that ISIS may choose not to acknowledge specific attacks. The editorial noted that these attacks allow supporters to be “one with” ISIS, even if they cannot be physically “amongst us.” 

An article condemned the Taliban as the mercenaries of the U.S. and alleged that Taliban officials attended the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) to “present their progress to the world” and meet with their American intelligence “bosses.”

Additional articles included stories about Ibrahim bin Adham (718-782) and Salman al-Farisi, one of the Prophet’s companions. Other articles offered advice on preventing social media accounts from being deleted and browsing the internet anonymously, a text version of an ISIS al-Bayan radio broadcast, where the narrator describes leaving Italy and traveling to ISIS-held territory in approximately 2016, and a story about an individual from Turkey who joins ISIS after a long period of skepticism. 

Infographics celebrated the August 23, 2024, Solingen stabbing attacks, encouraged lone actor attacks, condemned “Kazakh doctors” providing training in Afghanistan, condemned Qatar, celebrated the September 2, 2024, Kabul attack targeting the Taliban’s prosecution service, and offered advice on how to run a pious household. As with previous issues, the web magazine included a wallet for sending the privacy cryptocurrency Monero.