Head of Khorasan killed by Taliban in Kunar province

On June 6, at 08:15, a car bomb exploded in the city of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, where the deputy governor of the Taliban in Badakhshan, Maulvi Nasir Ahmad Ahmadi was located. As a result, the governor and his driver were killed. Several more people were injured. The Islamic State of Khorasan (ISKP) group claimed responsibility for the attack.

On the same day, multiple sources reported that the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) carried out raids on ISIS hideouts in Kunar province, which resulted in the elimination of the leader of the group, Dr. Shahab Al-Muhajir (his profile is attached), as well as three shelters of militants were destroyed. However, the Taliban did not give official confirmation of this. According to the GDI, such operations will continue until the elimination of other ISKP shelters in the region.

On June 8, 2023, Al-Azama, the ISKP media resource, published a 5-page brochure titled “Consider this brief silence as a warning before the coming storm of another bitter, bloody and deadly wave”, warning the Afghan authorities and neighboring countries. The release of the brochure coincided with the recent terrorist attacks in northern Afghanistan.

On the same day, about 13 people, including a Taliban commander named Mawlawi Safiullah Yaftali, were killed in an explosion during the funeral of Maulvi Nasir Ahmad Ahmadi in Badakhshan province.

Comments:

Although the Taliban have not officially announced it, the news of the assassination of ISIS leader Dr. Shahab al-Muhajir is a big blow to the group in Afghanistan.

Well-connected sources within the terrorist organizations described two main reactions from ISIS supporters:

- The militants rejected the information as propaganda spread by the Taliban.

- as in the case of the murder of the former ISIS leader Hussein al-Husseini in Syria in April of this year, the elimination of Shahab al-Muhajir will not affect the activities of the organization.

The major terrorist attack in Badakhshan (June 8) was allegedly the response of the ISKP to show that the terrorist organization does not plan to leave the territory, despite alleged high-profile murders.

Few analysts are of the opinion that the Badakhshan attack cannot be linked to operations in Kunar, since the planning of such operations by the ISKP takes some time.

Profile of Dr. Shahab Al Muhajir, Ameer ISKP

Born October 28, 1994 in the area north of Kabul. Received an engineering degree from Kabul University. It was during these years that he fell under the influence of the Afghan scholar Abu Obaidullah Mutawakel and imbued with sympathy and commitment to his ideology.

Also known as Sanaullah Ghafari, Al-Muhajir was appointed leader of the ISIS in June 2020. Prior to that, he was an active member of al-Qaeda.

Characterized as an expert in urban warfare and allegedly targeted by the Afghan government in urban areas as a way to avenge "group martyrs" as well as secure the release of ISIS prisoners.

After the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, the ISKP under his leadership carried out 3 major terrorist attacks. One of them was the attack on the Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, the other two were committed by suicide bombers during Friday prayers in Kandahar and Kunduz.

In total, since this moment, the ISKP has carried out a total of about 400 attacks in the Afghan-Pakistani region. All these activities were carried out under the leadership of Al-Muhajir. Also, he is responsible for 4 major terrorist attacks in 2021 and 4 in 2020 that took place in Afghanistan before the seizure of power by the Taliban, as a result of which about 100 people died.

Al-Muhajir had an extensive network in Kabul, including many powerful warlords and political families. It is noted that this network has helped ISKP in the recruitment of staff. His family belongs to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb and Islami, a major Afghan jihadist group.

Al-Muhajir's service pass was widely reported in the news, raising suspicions that he was a security guard for former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. But sources later confirmed that the pass was fake.