US Reportedly Has Intel That Daesh Affiliate Plans Attack on Kabul Airport Amid NATO Withdrawal

The White House earlier warned that the longer American troops stay in Afghanistan for the evacuation of civilians, the greater the chances are that the military at Kabul Airport will be attacked. This statement came amid speculation that NATO will not be able to evacuate everyone by the 31 August deadline drawn by the Taliban*.

US intelligence has obtained "a very specific threat stream" indicating that a Daesh* affiliate, ISIS-K* based in Afghanistan’s Khorasan province, was planning to attack people outside Kabul International Airport, CNN reported, citing an anonymous US defence official. This finding has reportedly raised US concerns regarding the security of the airport, where thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals have flocked in hopes of leaving the country following the Taliban’s* takeover.

According to the US intelligence findings cited by the source, ISIS-K plans to sow chaos at an already chaotic evacuation, and reportedly has the means and plans to carry out several attacks.

The report follows statements by US President Joe Biden and White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki in which they warned about possible attacks from ISIS-K and linked this possibility with a potentially prolonged stay of US troops at Kabul Airport for the evacuations. The Taliban insists that the extraction of civilians and foreign troops from the country must be finished by 31 August, but several Western states have considered negotiating an extension to that deadline.

A Taliban spokesman acknowledged reports about possible attacks coming from the Afghanistan-based offshoot of Daesh in Syria in his interview with CNN on 24 August. He suggested that in order to avoid being harmed, people should stop going to the airport. On the same day, the Taliban blocked the road to the airport for non-foreigners.

ISIS-K has carried out attacks in Afghanistan in the past. The group claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion in Kabul in May at a school for girls that killed 68 and injured 165. ISIS-K also attacked British-American HALO Trust in June, killing 10 and injuring 16 more.

*The Taliban and Daesh (also known as ISIS or IS) along with its affiliates are terrorist organisations outlawed in Russia and many other countries.