ISIS using Afghanistan as staging ground for terror plots after US withdrawal: report

Not even two years have passed since President Biden’s fumbled military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and already Islamic State terrorists are using the country to plot attacks across Europe and Asia. Islamic State Khorasan Province is also conducting “aspirational plotting” against the United States, according to leaked Pentagon documents reported by The Washington Post.

The leaked classified intelligence was found on the Discord social media platform, where suspected leaker Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira allegedly posted sensitive information online for more than a year. The Washington Post reports that documents from those leaks show that U.S. intelligence was aware of ISIS-K plots targeting embassies, churches, business centers and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, which attracted a crowd of more than two million people last fall in Qatar. 

“Pentagon officials were aware in December of nine such plots coordinated by ISIS leaders in Afghanistan, and the number rose to 15 by February, says the assessment, which has not been disclosed previously,” the newspaper reported. The assessment is reportedly labeled top-secret and bears the logos of several Department of Defense organizations. 

“ISIS has been developing a cost-effective model for external operations that relies on resources from outside Afghanistan, operatives in target countries, and extensive facilitation networks,” the assessment reads, according to The Washington Post. “The model will likely enable ISIS to overcome obstacles — such as competent security services — and reduce some plot timelines, minimizing disruption opportunities.”

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More classified intelligence reports leaked on Discord show that Islamic State terrorists in other parts of the world are seeking to obtain expertise to create chemical weapons and operating drone aircraft. They also reveal “a plot in which the group’s supporters would kidnap Iraqi diplomats in Belgium or France in a bid to secure the release of 4,000 imprisoned militants,” according to the Washington Post.

Fox News reached out to the Department of Defense to confirm details of The Washington Post’s reporting. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The report comes months after Gen. Michael Kurilla, leader of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on ISIS-K’s operations in Afghanistan. 

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Kurilla told lawmakers that the Pentagon estimated ISIS-K would be ready to conduct “an external operation against U.S. or Western interests abroad in under six months with little-to-no warning.” 

“In a classified [hearing], I will talk about why I make that assessment. It is much harder for them to be able to do that against the homeland,” the general added. 

President Biden’s handling of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 was widely criticized after the operation proved to be both deadly and chaotic. 

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Thirteen U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing while protecting the evacuation at the Kabul airport. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Afghans surged to the airport seeking to escape the Taliban, with some even clinging to U.S. transport planes as they took off.

House Republicans have launched several investigations into the Biden administration’s actions, calling the episode a “stunning failure” of leadership. 

Earlier this month, the White House released its own assessment of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which mostly blamed former President Trump’s administration. 

“President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor,” the White House review said. 

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.