Latest Articles about Afghanistan
Foreign Fighters and Sectarian Strikes: Islamic State Makes Gains in ‘Af-Pak’ Region
Since its formation nearly two years ago, Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan, known as IS Khorasan, has struggled to maintain a foothold in an ever-competitive jihadist landscape. Its disregard for local sensitivities and a number of setbacks on the battlefield had relegated it to a... MORE
Briefs
MALI: ISLAMIC STATE CONSIDERS ITS ALTERNATIVES Islamic State (IS) has acknowledged a pledge of allegiance from a fledgling group of Islamist fighters in Mali following several recent cross-border attacks by the group, and as IS itself comes under pressure in Iraq and Syria. On October... MORE
Village Mullah Turned Emir of the Afghan Taliban: An In-Depth Portrait of Haibatullah Akhundzada
Following the announcement of Mullah Muhammad Omar’s death in July 2015, the defunct Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s reign rested with his powerful deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, amid internal conflict and contestation over leadership. Although he had been leading the Afghan Taliban as de facto... MORE
Uzbekistan Determined to Improve Relations With Its Neighbors
Uzbekistan’s diplomats may never have been quite as busy as Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov has been in just the past several weeks. In addition to attending or hosting a series of routine meetings, Kamilov has also become a goodwill ambassador for Uzbekistan’s interim president, Prime... MORE
Security Situation Along Afghan-Tajik Border Alarms Regional Powers
Two high-ranking Russian security officials—General Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of Russia, and General Nikolai Bordyuzha, secretary general of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)—recently paid official visits to Tajikistan within days of one another. Generals Patrushev and Bordyuzha met with... MORE
Our Kind of Warlord: Afghanistan’s Deal With Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Hizb-e Islami Afghanistan (HIA), one of Afghanistan’s oldest jihadist factions and largest Islamic parties, concluded a comprehensive peace deal with the Afghan government on September 29. Speaker after speaker in the Afghan capital’s grand Arg presidential palace declared the deal “historic,” a milestone for restoring... MORE
Istanbul and Aktobe Attacks Highlight Central Asians’ Role in Transnational Terrorist Networks
Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Central Asians have featured prominently among the anti-government militants. But until June 2016, as far as Central Asia was concerned, the impact of the war was contained almost entirely to Syria and Iraq and remote parts... MORE
Taliban Victories in Helmand Province Prove Test for Afghan Government
Days after a U.S. drone strike killed the Taliban leader Mullah Akhar Mohammad Mansur in southwestern Pakistan on May 21, Afghan lawmakers warned of the impending collapse of Afghanistan's largest province. "Helmand is on the verge of collapse; 58 people were martyred during a single... MORE
Assessing the Death of Mullah Mansour and its Impact on the Taliban Leadership
Dr. Syed Adnan Ali Shah Bukhari and Dr. Sadia Sulaiman The death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike in Nushki district of Balochistan Province on May 21, has put the Taliban insurgent movement back on a powder keg. Additionally, it has the... MORE
Naeem Bokhari: Military Mastermind of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Farhan Zahid This past February, the Karachi police and the Sindh Rangers, a Pakistani paramilitary force, foiled a terrorist plot to stage a massive jailbreak in southeast Pakistan. The operation, which appears to have been intelligence-led, was one of the largest and most successful joint... MORE