ISIS Khorasan branch new leader is Pak-based Haqqani Network terrorist: Afghan minister
Aug 04, 2020
Kabul [Afghanistan], August 4 : Shahab Almahajir, the new leader of ISIS Khorasan branch, is a Pakistan-based Haqqani Network terrorist, said Afghanistan acting interior minister Masoud Andrabi.
Exposing links between Haqqani network and Taliban, Andrabi alleged that the two terror groups carry out terrorism on a daily basis across Afghanistan and when their terrorist activities do not suit them politically they rebrand it under ISKP.
"Shahab Almahajir, the newly appointed leader of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province-ISKP is a Haqqani member. Haqqani and the Taliban carry out their terrorism on a daily basis across Afghanistan and when their terrorist activities do not suit them politically they rebrand it under ISKP," he tweeted on Monday.
In May, former Afghan intelligence chief, Rahmatullah Nabil, has warned that Pakistan-based Haqqani Network is "backing" proscribed terror groups in planning a '9/11 style' attack in the West.
The Haqqani Network emerged in the 1980s and consists largely of fighters who grouped around Jalaluddin Haqqani after that period. The outfit today is led by Sirajuddin Haqqani and is rumoured to have between 10,000-15,000 terrorists.
The US has accused Pakistan of maintaining a strong working relationship with the Haqqani Network.
A UN report has estimated that 6,000-6,500 Pakistani terrorists are in neighbouring Afghanistan, posing a threat to both the countries, a UN report has said.
The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities said the terror group al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operates under the Taliban umbrella from Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.
