By Rafi Afghan

KABUL (TSAT) - Growing terrorist attacks against innocent people in Afghanistan have spread anger and fear among the people in the landlocked Asian country.

During the holy month of Ramadan, over 100 people were killed and hundreds of others were wounded in terrorist attacks across the country.

ISIS/Daesh, a terrorist group has claimed responsibility for these attacks in which they targeted religious places, mosques, and schools.

According to Taliban government officials, there is no presence of Daesh terrorists in large numbers in the country as most of them have been arrested or killed during the operations last year.

“We have eliminated the Daesh, destroyed their sanctuaries and now the presence of Daesh is very small,” local Tolo News quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying.

“They have conducted some attacks on a school and mosques but have not accomplished anything significant. We are serious about our security and will not allow anyone to cause insecurity,” he added.

Despite Taliban claims, Daesh is still active and targeting the civilians in different areas to spread fear among the common Afghan people.

Mujahid earlier said that the Taliban have arrested over 700 Daesh leaders and militants from Nangarhar and Kunar which were earlier the stronghold of the group.

However, now they are carrying out attacks in northern parts of the country and Kabul where former Afghan government leaders including vice president Amrullah Salih, Rashid Dustom, Atta Muhammad Nur, and Ahmad Massoud have strong support.

Locals Afghans believe that these leaders are behind the current wave of violence as they resisted the Taliban last year and then fled the country. Now most of them are living in Tajikistan, Iran, and European countries.

“Currently Sanaullah is leading the Daesh terror group in Afghanistan, who once remained very close to Amrullah Salih and reportedly he had infiltrated him into Al-Qaeda to keep eyes on the group activities in Afghanistan in the past,” a professor in Kabul University told the TSAT while requesting anonymity due to the current security situation.

Most of Afghan analysts and officials currently avoid speaking with the media because of fear and security issues.

He added that five groups are currently active in Afghanistan, among them the Freedom movement in Hazar areas, Fighter friends, Khateez Jabha, United front of Afghanistan, and Daesh.

“These are five groups but so far it's not clear who is leading the remaining four groups and providing them financial support,” he said.

On Tuesday, Gen. Mark Milley, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also warned that ISIS/Daesh and other groups are trying to organize in Afghanistan.

“ISIS and other groups are trying to put themselves back together, they have not succeeded yet and they have not yet presented a threat to the US homeland but we are watching that very, very, closely and if they raise their head and do present a threat, we will take appropriate (action)," Tolo quoted Milley who informed the lawmakers during Senate hearing.

 
Pakistani Tehrik-e-Taliban is known as TTP, is an umbrella group of Pakistani militants who while living in Afghanistan, have increased their attacks against Pakistani forces since the Taliban came into power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

According to the Pakistan security officials, nearly 100 of its soldiers have died due to terrorist attacks those are being conducted from across the border since January this year.

Last month, Pakistan Foreign Ministry said that terrorist incidents along Pak-Afghan Border have significantly increased in the last few days wherein Pakistani security forces are being targeted from across the border.
 

“Pakistan has repeatedly requested Afghan Government in last few months to secure Pak-Afghan border region. Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan,” said the ministry in a statement.

 
The statement came a day after, Afghan Taliban alleged that Pakistan carried out an airstrike in Khost and Kunar Provinces inside their country on April 16, allegedly targeting Pakistani refugee camps.

 
Afghan Taliban didn’t share details about the alleged airstrikes but locals said that dozens of TTP terrorists were killed in the strikes.

 
“I don’t know who dropped the bombs in our villages but they targeted Pakistani Taliban houses who are living here for the last several years,” said Muhibullah, a local resident of Khost.

Analysts believed that the current wave of growing attacks in Afghanistan and giving a free hands to militant groups like TTP and BLA poses the biggest threat to Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, specially to Pakistan.

China also expressed its deep concerns over the presence of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Afghanistan, which carried out attacks targeting Chinese interests in the region. It is about time that Afghanistan’s incumbent government takes critical stock of the internal security situation and doesn’t allow TTP and other terrorist groups to use Afghan soil to orchestrate terrorist attacks against its neighbouring countries.