Iran's Ministry of Intelligence on Friday announced that Adel Aref, the perpetrator of the attack on Kabul University in 2020, has been involved in the terrorist attacks in Kerman city of Iran.
Aref, who was sentenced to death by the previous government in Afghanistan, was released from Bagram prison after the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021.
Iranian Intelligence Ministry reported that Aref, known as Adel Panjshiri, entered an area in western Tehran and is wanted by the government.
The ministry sought the cooperation of citizens to arrest this ISIS member by publishing his pictures.
The Ministry of Intelligence’s statement revealed that Aref had a direct connection with Abdul Hakim Towhidi, the ISIS operations commander in Kerman. Additionally, it mentioned that Aref had been previously arrested for planning a suicide attack at Kabul University. After spending a year in Bagram prison, he was subsequently released.
In the statement, it has been said that Aref "resumed engaging in criminal activities" following his release from prison.
The ministry has confirmed that several individuals associated with him, all members of ISIS Khorasan, have been identified and apprehended. However, Adel Aref is currently on the run and is wanted.
Who is Aref Adel?
On November 2, 2020, Kabul University in Afghanistan was the target of a complex terrorist attack. Lasting nearly six hours, the Khorasan branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack.
Twenty people lost their lives in this attack, with the majority of the victims being young students of Kabul University.
Following the explosion, Amrullah Saleh, the former vice-president of Afghanistan, declared that the attack on Kabul University was orchestrated by the Taliban under the guise of ISIS. He further announced the arrest of Aref Adel, one of the masterminds behind this attack.
Saleh had said Adel "studied at the Faculty of Sharia [of Kabul University] and was later recruited by Sanaullah, a veteran member of the Haqqani network, and then committed this crime”.
At that time, Saleh wrote, "Before the emergence of ISIS, Sanaullah was a member of the Taliban group and the Haqqani branch." According to him, "ISIS is a name. Those who have done this possess multiple identities, affiliating with groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, Taliban, and ISIS as needed using titles and nicknames.”
However, at that time, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, denied any involvement in the attack on Kabul University.
From death sentence to release from Bagram prison
In December 2020, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior of the former government declared that an individual named Adel, one of the planners of the attack on Kabul University, had been sentenced to death.
On December 31, 2020, Afghanistan’s Supreme Court live-streamed the trial of those accused of plotting the attack on Kabul University.
At that time, the Afghan government had transferred Adel to Bagram prison, in Parwan province.
On August 15, 2021, nearly a year after the attack on Kabul University, the media reported that control of Bagram Prison had fallen into the hands of the Taliban. The group was said to have released all the prisoners held in the facility.
Later, Taliban spokespersons confirmed that Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the group, had issued the order to release all the prisoners.
Similarly, in the statement from the Ministry of Intelligence of Iran, published on Friday, it has been noted that Adel Aref, "after spending one year in Bagram prison, was released" and upon his release, "resumed engaging in criminal activities once again”.
