Afghanistan Content Report 

September 20 – September 26, 2025

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

Table of contents 

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 514, Published September 25, 2025 

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter 

3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements 

1. Main points (Pro-ISIS online chatter) 

Afghanistan

• Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle murdered a former Afghan soldier, Gul Agha Jalali, in Herat.
• Two Taliban soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in Khaja Bahauddin, Takhar province.
• President Trump said that he wants the U.S. to reestablish a presence at Bagram Air Base, and has threatened the Taliban with unspecified negative consequences if they do not accede to his demands.
  • Pro-ISIS posts noted that the Taliban might receive frozen funds in exchange for the U.S. 

taking control of Bagram Air Base. 

• China, Pakistan, Russia, and Iran released a statement opposing the reestablishment of U.S. 

military bases in Afghanistan. 

• The U.S. House of Representatives included a provision in the 2026 defense budget to allow the Department of Defense to share intelligence with former Afghan security forces opposed to the Taliban. The Senate has not voted yet on that budget. 

Pakistan

• ISIS gunmen murdered Mir Azam Khan, a member of the Pakistani Awami National Party, in Bajaur.
• Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle murdered a Ministry of Interior officer in North Waziristan.
• Unidentified gunmen murdered an alleged Pakistani special forces officer in Pishin, Balochistan.
• Unidentified gunmen murdered the head of a peace committee (local militia) in the Tank area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Pakistani security forces attacked an unidentified militant hideout in Khuzdar, Balochistan. Three soldiers were reportedly killed and six were injured in the operation. The post claimed that some or all the militants escaped. 

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 514, Published September 25, 2025

• “A Pakistani police officer was shot dead in southwestern Pakistan.” 

“State of Pakistan. This week, the Caliphate’s soldiers assassinated a member of the Pakistani forces. An armed attack took place in southwestern Pakistan. In detail, a private source told Al-Naba that on Wednesday evening (2 Rabi` al-Akhir), the Mujahideen targeted a member of the apostate Pakistani police with a pistol, [while he] was riding his motorcycle on Tora Shah Road in the Pishin area, leading to his death, thank God.” 

• “Islamic State soldiers near Afghanistan assassinated a Pakistani intelligence spy.” 

“Khorasan Province. The soldiers of the Caliphate in Khorasan Province assassinated a spy for the 

Pakistani forces in an armed attack in the Bajaur region, bordering Afghanistan. In detail, by the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a spy for the apostate Pakistani intelligence on Sunday (29/Rabi' al-Awwal), while he was driving a vehicle. 

“Pistol bullets hit his motorcycle in the village of Sadiq Abad in the Khar district of Bajaur, which led to his death, thank God. A security source added to Al-Naba that the slain spy had caused the capture of one of the Mujahideen by the Pakistani government, in addition to being an activist in the apostate nationalist parties.” 

 2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter 

• September 20: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram alleging that in exchange for Bagram Air Base, President Trump will restore the transfer of funds to the Taliban and ensure the Taliban’s security. 

“Urgent. Trump on Truth Social: If Afghanistan doesn’t return Bagram Air Base to its builder—the United States—bad things will happen! 

“Explicit threat: Return Bagram, we’ll restore your funding, and your new alliance with Russia, China, and Iran will be of no use.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Trump has demanded the return of Bagram Air Base again, and threatened unspecified action. 

“Update. Trump threatens the Taliban again. ‘We’re talking to Afghanistan now, and we want Bagram Air Base back, and we want it back right now. If they don’t give it up, you’ll see what I’ll do.’” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram noting that the U.S. House of Representatives “approved an amendment to the 2026 defense budget” allowing “the Department of Defense to share intelligence with former Afghan security forces opposed to the Taliban.” The budget is awaiting approval by the Senate. See https://www.afintl.com/en/202509184146.

“Follow-ups. The U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to the 2026 defense budget that allows the Department of Defense to share intelligence with former Afghan security forces opposed to the Taliban. 

“Increasing_Pressure.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen murdered Mir Azam Khan, a member of the Pakistani Awami National Party, in Bajaur. See https://www.dawn.com/news/1943746. 

“Urgent. Gunmen riding a motorcycle assassinated a member of the Pakistani Awami National Party in Bajaur.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that the U.S. wants to depict the Taliban as strong so that ISIS-K “does not exploit this.” 

“Observers. It is not in America’s interest to portray the Afghan Taliban as weak. Otherwise, it would be able to impose its orders on the movement under the Doha Agreement, in which the movement relinquished all its principles and submitted entirely to the United States and its demands. 

“Why doesn’t it want to portray it as weak? 

“So that their ‘common enemy,’ whom they agreed to fight side by side in Qatar, does not exploit this.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that ISIS claimed responsibility for killing Mir Azam Khan in Bajaur, Pakistan. 

“Urgent. The attack was confirmed a short while ago. V [ISIS].” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle murdered a Ministry of Interior officer in North Waziristan. 

“Urgent. Gunmen riding a motorcycle assassinate a Ministry of Interior officer in North Waziristan, Pakistan.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram containing the text of a Washington Post editorial published on September 20. The editorial argues that the U.S. should consider deploying a small military force to Bagram Air Base to conduct counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K and to enhance U.S. regional influence. Please note that the text below has slight differences from the Post editorial. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/09/20/bagram-afghanistan-trumptaliban-negotiate/.

“Follow-ups. Washington Post Report: Reclaiming Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base Isn’t a Bad Idea. 

“For nearly 20 years, Bagram Air Base has been a sprawling symbol of American power in Afghanistan and the heart of America’s long military intervention there. The Biden administration secretly vacated the base on July 1, 2021, just weeks before its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Afghan military, left in control of the base, then handed it over to the Taliban. 

“Today, President Donald Trump says he wants to reclaim Bagram. He said in London on Thursday: ‘We gave it to them for nothing . . . and we’re trying to get it back, by the way . . . we’re trying to get it back because they need things from us.’ That’s a good thing. Bagram is worth pursuing, even if not at any cost. 

“Bagram is strategically important because of its proximity to the border with China and to a nuclear test site at Lop Nur in a remote area of Xinjiang province. 

“The test site was long believed to have been abandoned, but reports have indicated increased Chinese military construction activity there. 

“A U.S. military presence in Bagram would also allow the U.S. to conduct counterterrorism operations in a volatile region against V [ISIS] fighters, who are also at war with the Taliban and extending their tentacles into Europe. 

“What the Taliban want most from the U.S. is recognition. The country’s seat at the UN remains with the previous government, and the Taliban also wants access to $7 billion in frozen assets in the U.S. to revive its faltering economy. 

“Taliban officials do not appear enthusiastic about the return of U.S. forces to Bagram. ‘Afghans have never accepted the presence of foreign forces on their soil throughout history,’ said Zakir Jalaly, a senior foreign ministry official. However, there is room for negotiation, Jalaly added clearly: ‘Afghanistan and America need to engage in economic and political relations based on mutual respect and common interests.’ 

“Trump has leverage. Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Trump’s special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler, announced this month that they had reached a prisoner exchange agreement, and the Wall Street Journal reported that talks on stationing a small U.S. force at Bagram are still in their early stages. 

“However, recognizing the Taliban government now would be a mistake, as the regime’s abhorrent treatment of women and girls is unlikely to end anytime soon. 

“Only Russia has extended full diplomatic relations with the Taliban government so far, while countries such as India and Japan have maintained their embassies in the capital. 

“Opening a U.S. embassy in Kabul would not be a betrayal of American values, but there is little evidence that the U.S. diplomatic boycott of Afghanistan, after more than four years of Taliban control, is exerting adequate pressure to force the government to retreat. Other actors are filling the vacuum, and Washington would be better off with more influence in Kabul, not less. 

“The return of a small U.S. force to Bagram would not resemble the overwhelming presence that existed before, but it would give the United States a foothold in a region of critical strategic importance, as competition with China continues.” 

• September 21: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle murdered a former Afghan special forces soldier, Gul Agha Jalali, in Herat. Jalali was reportedly deported to Afghanistan from Iran two months ago. See https://kabulnow.com/2025/09/formersoldier-killed-by-unknown-assailants-in-western-afghanistan/. 

“Urgent. Gunmen riding a motorcycle assassinated a member of the former Afghan special forces in the third district of Herat.” 

• September 25: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram claiming that unidentified gunmen murdered an alleged Pakistani special forces officer in Pishin, Balochistan. 

“Urgent. Gunmen assassinated a Pakistani special forces officer in the Pishin district of Balochistan.” 

• September 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that a spokesman for the Taliban interior ministry allegedly claimed that they were afraid of refugees or foreigners traveling to Afghanistan to join ISIS-

  K.  

“Statement by the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban interior ministry, ‘We fear receiving refugees or those coming from abroad for fear that they will join the V [ISIS] fighters.’” 

• September 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram noting that China, Pakistan, Russia, and Iran released a statement opposing the reestablishment of U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. See https://www.afintl.com/en/202509264022 and https://amu.tv/202199/. 

“Follow-ups. China, Pakistan, Russia, and Iran released a joint statement opposing any move to reestablish U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. In response to U.S. demands to reclaim Bagram Air Base.” 

• September 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that unidentified gunmen murdered the head of a peace committee (local militia) in the Tank area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

“Urgent. Gunmen stormed the home of Salahuddin, head of the Pakistani government’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) peace committee, in the Tank area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing him.” 

• September 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that Pakistani security forces attacked an unidentified militant hideout in Khuzdar, Balochistan, and that three soldiers were killed and six were injured in the operation. The post claimed that some or all the militants escaped. 

“Urgent. Pakistani government forces launched a military operation against a hideout in Khuzdar, Balochistan, to arrest militants. 

“The militants clashed with the force, killing three government troops and wounding six others. The militants withdrew to an unknown location.” 

• September 26: Pro-ISIS post on Telegram stating that two Taliban soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in Khaja Bahauddin, Takhar province. 

“Urgent. A Katyusha rocket attack on a Taliban military base in the Khaja Bahauddin area of Takhar province resulted in the deaths of two personnel, according to the preliminary toll.” 

 3. ISIS Amaq/Nashir Statements 

•     September 21: ISIS claims to have murdered an individual allegedly spying for the Pakistani government in Khar, Bajaur. 

“Urgent. Khorasan Province. By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a spy for the apostate Pakistani intelligence, in the Khar region of [the] Bajaur border [area], with pistol shots, which led to his death, praise be to God.”