Al-Qaeda, ISKP Terror Groups Will Be Set For External Attacks In About Year - US Official

Al-Qaeda, ISKP Terror Groups Will Be Set for External Attacks in About Year - US Official

The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and Al-Qaeda terror groups (banned in Russia) will have reconstituted external attack capabilities from Afghanistan within approximately a year's time, US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2022) The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and Al-Qaeda terror groups (banned in Russia) will have reconstituted external attack capabilities from Afghanistan within approximately a year's time, US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier said on Tuesday.

"We assess ISIS (Islamic State) probably a year, slightly longer, and longer for Al-Qaeda," Berrier said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats.

The groups' presence in Afghanistan has purportedly began to reemerge in the wake of the US departure and Taliban takeover of the country.

In April, ISKP attacked an educational facility and vehicle in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing at least nine people and injuring 13. The group, which has been operating in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan since 2015, has claimed responsibility for multiple terror attacks.

US Special Representative Tom West said earlier this year that he believes the Taliban to be sincere in their efforts to counter ISKP in Afghanistan. However, former US Central Command chief Kenneth McKenzie also said that ISKP will be a tough target for the Taliban.

McKenzie assessed the strength of ISKP to be a couple thousand fighters, but added that they are recruiting and have been infused with individuals from Pul-e-Charkhi and Parwan prisons.