The United States believes ISIS-K, which is a sworn enemy of the Taliban, wants to create chaos at the airport and has currents of intelligence that suggest it is capable and plan multiple attacks, according to the official.
“Every day we are on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is trying to head to the airport and attack both Allied forces and innocent civilians,” Biden said.
Concerns have risen after more than 100 prisoners loyal to the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan escaped from two prisons near Kabul as the Taliban advanced into the Afghan capital, CNN reported.
A regional counter-terrorism source told CNN that as many as hundreds of ISIS-K members could have escaped from Bagram and Pul-e-Charkhi prisons, both east of Kabul. The two prisons fell to the Taliban shortly before entering Kabul.
A Taliban spokesman would not deal with reports of the leaks when asked on CNN on Wednesday, saying they were just not confirmed.
Regarding the risk of terrorist attacks at and around the airport, a Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday: “There have been reports that some malefactors want to alter the security situation there by attacking and harming people and the media. So don’t go near the airport to avoid getting hurt. “
According to officials from the previous Afghan government, there were approximately 5,000 inmates at the Bagram facility when the United States left it in July. They included members of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS, as well as ordinary criminals.
ISIS-Khorasan is a branch of the terrorist group that first emerged in Syria and Iraq. Although affiliates share an ideology and tactics, the depth of their relationship in terms of organization, command, and control has never been fully established.
U.S. intelligence officials previously told CNN that ISIS-K members include “a small number of veteran jihadists from Syria and other foreign terrorist fighters,” saying the U.S. had identified 10 to 15 of its main agents in Afghanistan. The group’s name comes from its area terminology that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan: “Khorasan.”
ISIS-K has formed cells in Kabul, which have carried out several devastating suicide attacks in the Afghan capital and beyond in 2016.
In May this year, ISIS-K attacked a girls’ school in Kabul and killed at least 68 people, injuring more than 165, mostly girls, according to an assessment by the defense intelligence agency. by the Inspector General. And in June, at least ten people were killed and 16 injured in an attack on the British-American charity HALO Trust. ISIS-Khorasan claimed assault on the camp in northeastern Baghlan province.
The group has established a presence in eastern Afghanistan in recent years, especially in Nangahar and Kunar provinces. Last August, the group attacked the main prison in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangahar, in an effort to free dozens of its supporters who had been captured by the Afghan army and police.