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1 1 (August 17, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveejb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Updated August 17, 2021 Terrorist Groups in Afghanistan Afghanistan's geography, complex ethnic composition, and history of conflict and instability have created space for numerous armed Islamist groups, some of which have engaged in transnational terrorist activity. This product outlines major terrorist groups active in Afghanistan that are affiliated and allied with Al Qaeda (AQ) and the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or by the Arabic acronym Da 'esh), and relations between these groups and other state and non-state actors, most notably the Taliban. The Taliban are not a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). These dynamics may inform assessments of U.S. policy in Afghanistan in light of the Taliban's August 2021 takeover of the country. In the February 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement, the Taliban had committed to undertake unspecified counterterrorism efforts in return for the full withdrawal of U.S. and international military forces, to be completed in August 2021. The Taliban interact with the groups below in varying ways that may affect U.S. interests. President Joseph Biden and other U.S. officials have stated that the United States will maintain over-the-horizon capabilities to address terrorist threats in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal. Observers differ on how Taliban rule might empower or undermine terrorist groups below or Taliban behavior toward them. Al Qaeda Core The top echelon or core AQ leadership has been a primary U.S. target in Afghanistan since 2001. These include AQ leader Ayman al Zawahiri (who reportedly is ailing) and his deputies, an advisory council of about ten individuals, and members of various AQ committees such as military operations and finance. In September 2019, the White House announced that U.S. forces killed Hamza bin Laden, son of AQ founder Osama bin Laden and a rising leader in the group, in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. U.S. officials have argued that U.S. raids and airstrikes on AQ targets, including a large training camp discovered in Kandahar province in 2015, have reduced the AQ presence in Afghanistan. An April 2021 report from the Department of Defense (DOD) estimated that AQ core leaders in Afghanistan pose a limited threat because they focus primarily on survival. The U.S.-Taliban agreement commits the Taliban to preventing any group, including Al Qaeda, from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States or its allies. Taliban-AQ links date back to the 1990s, when the Taliban were last in power and provided a crucial safe haven to Al Qaeda as it planned the September 11, 2001, and other terrorist attacks. Those ties have been reinforced by their shared battle against international forces in Afghanistan as well as through intermarriage and other personal bonds between members of the two groups. In an April 2021 report, United Nations (U.N.) sanctions monitors assessed that AQ and the Taliban remain closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties. The Taliban reportedly issued orders in February 2021 barring their members from sheltering foreign fighters, but otherwise do not appear to have taken tangible steps that might constitute a break in ties with Al Qaeda. AQ sympathizers have celebrated the Taliban's takeover and the Taliban have reportedly freed prisoners, including AQ members. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent In September 2014, Zawahiri announced the creation of a formal, separate Al Qaeda affiliate in South Asia, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS, designated as an FTO in 2016). Because of the relative geographical proximity of AQIS and the AQ core, differentiating between the two is difficult, but some key distinctions exist. Essentially, AQIS represents an attempt by AQ to establish a more durable presence in the region by enhancing links with local actors, prompted in part by the relocation of some AQ leaders to Syria. Former AQIS leader Asim Umar, who was being sheltered by Taliban forces when he was killed in a joint U.S.-Afghan operation in Afghanistan in September 2019, was an Indian national with deep roots in Pakistan; AQ core leaders are predominantly Arab. AQIS has reportedly solidified its presence in Afghanistan by embedding fighters in the Taliban. According to the April 2021 DOD report, AQIS threatened U.S. forces in Afghanistan, a reflection of the group's cooperation with the Taliban, but likely lacked the means to conduct attacks outside the region. Provinces with Reported Presence of Terror Groups Select Terror Groups AQ AQS KP Haqqan etwork Main proVinces of re=ported' presnce as1 of June 20213 based on. U N reports Sf202114n and s 121/'6ss Groups may condct operations i, other areas. Source: Graphic created by CRS. https://crsreports.congress.gov

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