Taliban Conducts 'Special Operation' Against ISIS Members in Kabul

The Taliban claim to have attacked an ISIS hideout in the 5th district of Kabul and arrested several members of the group.

Khalid Zadran, spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Kabul, stated on Saturday that ISIS members were planning attacks during the month of Muharram.

Late on Saturday, Zadran wrote on the social platform X that in this operation, several ISIS members were arrested, and a large amount of explosives, weapons, and ammunition were seized.

Al-Mirsaad, a media outlet affiliated with the Taliban intelligence agency, provided details of the Taliban intelligence operation in Kabul.

According to Al-Mirsaad, citing Taliban intelligence sources, "On Wednesday, 10th July, special Taliban forces conducted an operation on an ISIS hideout in the 5th district of Kabul, arresting several members of a major ISIS network and discovering and seizing a large amount of explosives, weapons, and ammunition."

The report added that the head of this ISIS unit is an Afghan who had lived in a neighbouring country.

It claimed that this individual was recruited by the ISIS-Khorasan branch, which the report added is based in Balochistan, and sent to Afghanistan.

The Taliban-affiliated media added: "This man first married a Pakistani woman and then was sent to Afghanistan after being trained."

Al-Mirsaad noted that among the arrested individuals were those responsible for an attack a few months ago on a Shiite community vehicle in the Kote Sangi area of Kabul.

The report also mentioned a list of religious scholars, professors, prominent anti-government figures, and Pakistani politicians targeted for assassination by ISIS, some of whom had already been killed.

The network reportedly had a list of targets in Afghanistan and a neighbouring country. This news comes as the United Nations Security Council, in its latest report, highlighted the expanding influence of ISIS in Afghanistan and its penetration into Central Asian countries.

The UN Security Council stated that ISIS has infiltrated the Taliban’s Ministries of Defence, Interior, and Intelligence. According to the report, ISIS is quietly but rapidly recruiting new members.