'War on Terror' Resumes Ahead of 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks [Global Focus]

Afghanistan Becomes Cradle of Terrorist Groups... Agents Infiltrate from Neighboring Countries
Large-Scale Terror Attacks Feared on US Mainland... "A Second 9/11 Could Occur"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, the United States, which was withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, has once again been drawn into the 'War on Terror.' This is interpreted as terrorist organizations scattered across Central Asia flocking en masse to Afghanistan amid the chaos surrounding the Taliban's return to power before and after the U.S. announced its withdrawal from Afghanistan. With Afghanistan once again becoming a cradle for terrorist organizations as it was in 2001, concerns are growing over the threat of large-scale terrorist attacks targeting the U.S. mainland ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

According to major foreign media on the 29th (local time), five rocket attacks were launched toward Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, which were reportedly intercepted by the U.S. military's missile defense system. Earlier that day, a rocket attack presumed to have been carried out by IS-K, a terrorist organization under the Islamic State (IS), was reported to have killed one civilian in Kabul.

A vehicle carrying bombs heading to Kabul airport was also airstriked. The U.S. Department of Defense stated in a press release that it destroyed an IS-K vehicle attempting to carry out a terrorist attack using a drone strike. It is reported that nine civilians died during this operation.

Previously, IS-K claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near Kabul airport on the 26th, which killed 13 U.S. soldiers and over 170 civilians. Since then, the U.S. has announced the killing of two IS-K members in retaliatory airstrikes, and the clashes between U.S. forces and IS-K continue. Consequently, there are forecasts that some U.S. troops will remain after the August 31 deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan to continue operations against IS-K. In other words, the war on terror has officially resumed ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

◇IS-K Hindering U.S. Withdrawal

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

IS-K, which carried out large-scale terrorist attacks ahead of the U.S. troop withdrawal deadline in Afghanistan, is the Afghan branch of IS, established in 2015. IS originally emerged as a militant faction during the Syrian and Iraqi civil wars in 2014, notorious for indiscriminate terrorist attacks against the U.S. and allied forces as well as other Islamic militant groups and clerics. In 2015, IS was thriving, controlling more than half of Syria and Iraq, and had dispatched members to Afghanistan to establish a branch, carrying out terrorist attacks targeting civilians.

After IS headquarters suffered devastating blows from U.S. forces in 2017, IS-K operated in Afghanistan in a cell-based structure to avoid detection by the Taliban. As a result, the exact size and status of its members remained unclear. The United Nations Security Council's international terrorism status report released last month estimated IS-K's membership to be between 500 and several thousand. According to recent Russian government estimates, about 4,000 members are active within Afghanistan.

It is particularly analyzed that the reason for IS-K's attack on Kabul airport was to demonstrate the rebuilding of the IS organization, which had become ineffective after the Iraqi and Syrian civil wars. IS headquarters has recently taken advantage of prolonged instability in Iraq and Syria to rebuild the organization, reportedly regaining tens of thousands of members. Afghan local media Tolo News reported, "IS especially wants to assert its presence in Afghanistan, where the U.S. and international community's attention is focused," adding, "there are concerns about further terrorist attacks."

◇Al-Qaeda, ETIM, IMU... Afghanistan Becomes a ‘Cradle’ for Terrorist Organizations

Amid the intensified political instability in Afghanistan following the Taliban's return to power, not only IS-K but also small and medium-sized terrorist organizations scattered across Central Asia are flocking to Afghanistan. Similar to 2001, Afghanistan is once again being regarded as a cradle for terrorist organizations.

The biggest beneficiary of the Taliban's return to power is known to be the Afghan branch of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. According to The New York Times (NYT), Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan operates mainly through two branches: the Afghan branch and the Indian branch. With the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban's takeover of the entire country, thousands of members imprisoned in U.S. military bases were released.

Al-Qaeda, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and the direct cause of the Afghan war, is expected to expand its influence in Afghanistan through its close ties with the Taliban. According to the Associated Press (AP), Al-Qaeda is reportedly supported by the Haqqani Network (HQN), a militant and terrorist organization under the Taliban. The Haqqani Network, responsible for military logistics and security in Kabul, was established in 1978 and has maintained a cooperative relationship with the Taliban for a long time.

Not only terrorist organizations within Afghanistan but also those from neighboring countries are flocking to Afghanistan. According to a United Nations report released in June, as the U.S. accelerated its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan this year, between 8,000 and 10,000 terrorist members from Central Asia, Pakistan, and China's western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have entered Afghanistan.

Most of them have been absorbed into organizations such as the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and IS-K. Among them are members of neighboring countries' terrorist organizations, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which have previously cooperated with the Taliban in China's Xinjiang Uygur region. According to CNN, security authorities in China and Russia view the expansion of these terrorist organizations in Afghanistan as a high risk for the spread of terrorism throughout Central Asia.

◇Concerns Over Attacks on U.S. Mainland Ahead of 9/11 20th Anniversary

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Warnings have also been raised that terrorist organizations may carry out large-scale attacks targeting the U.S. mainland ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan's National Security Advisor, said in an interview with UK Sky News on the 29th, "Afghanistan is once again experiencing economic collapse and lawlessness as the Taliban take power, just like in 2001, and terrorist organizations are infiltrating amid this chaos," adding, "this situation could ultimately lead to a second 9/11 attack."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also announced on the 13th that it would strengthen the domestic terrorism alert system. In the statement, DHS warned, "As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, domestic terrorism threats are increasing," and "especially with schools and public institutions reopening for the September semester, many events that could be targets for terrorism are expected to take place."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.