Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 1 - Afghanistan

Country Overview:  The United States has not recognized any entity as the government of Afghanistan; references to the Taliban in this report do not denote or imply that the United States recognizes the Taliban as the Government of Afghanistan.  The Taliban terrorist entity has a nationalistic focus on Afghanistan and maintains a so-called “government” that is authoritarian in nature.  In addition to the Taliban, several notable terrorist organizations maintain a presence in Afghanistan: Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), al-Qa’ida (AQ), al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), and the Haqqani Network.

ISIS-K, which is primarily present in Afghanistan and Pakistan, conducted high-profile attacks in 2024 against the Taliban and against Afghanistan’s Hazara Shia minority.  ISIS-K and the Taliban continued to violently combat each other in 2024 and were active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The Afghan Taliban do not consider the TTP to be a terrorist organization, and the TTP continues to direct its efforts against the Government of Pakistan.  In March, Pakistan announced that it had conducted counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.  In December, the Taliban claimed that Pakistan had conducted airstrikes into Afghanistan, airstrikes which were reportedly targeting TTP locations in Afghanistan.

In 2024, the Taliban failed to deny safe haven in Afghanistan to al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent.  According to a January 2024 U.N. report, al-Qa’ida conducted recruitment from and established training camps in Afghanistan.  In June 2024, a senior al-Qa’ida leader published an article through al-Qa’ida’s media arm encouraging attacks against the West, encouraging adherents to engage in weapons training, and encouraging adherents to emigrate from the West to live in Afghanistan.  AQIS, which is estimated to have 200 members, is an al-Qa‘ida affiliate based mainly in Afghanistan.  In 2024, AQIS did not conduct any high-profile attacks in Afghanistan or the region.

The Haqqani Network, an FTO, is led by the Taliban’s so-called “Minister of Interior,” Sirajuddin Haqqani.  In his role as the so-called “Minister of Interior”, Sirajuddin oversees thousands of police figures throughout Afghanistan.

In August, Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), hosted a coordination meeting to discuss anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, which included representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Supreme Court and the so-called “General Directorate of Intelligence.”  DAB claimed that Afghanistan’s financial intelligence unit received and reviewed suspicious activity reports from commercial banks and money service providers in Afghanistan.

2024 Terrorism Trends:  ISIS-K claimed the largest number of terrorism attacks in Afghanistan. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the December 11 suicide attack in Kabul that killed Khalil Ur Rahman Haqqani.  Khalil was the Taliban’s so-called “Minister of Refugees”, a senior member of the Haqqani Network, and a relative of the Taliban’s so-called “Minister of Interior,” Sirajuddin Haqqani.  On September 2, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at the Office of the Attorney General in Kabul.  The attack reportedly killed 45 employees.  On September 12, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for a shooting attack targeting Hazara Shiites that killed 15 in Daykundi Province.