Former Afghan agents switching to IS... "Capable of attacking the US within 6 months"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 31st (local time), Afghan agents and elite soldiers left behind and unable to escape from Afghanistan are increasingly joining the extremist terrorist organization Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K).

A former Afghan official told WSJ that a military commander who oversaw the arsenal in Gardez, the capital of Paktia Province in Afghanistan, joined IS-K and died a week ago in a clash with Taliban forces.

A resident living north of Kabul said that his cousin, who was a senior officer in the government special forces, suddenly disappeared last September and later appeared as a member of IS-K. Among the hundreds of thousands of former military, police, and intelligence agents who worked for the old Afghan government, some are defecting, and their numbers are steadily increasing.

Former government military personnel are aligning with IS-K because they are currently the only armed force opposing the Taliban in Afghanistan.

After the resistance led by Ahmad Masoud was decisively defeated by the Taliban in Panjshir in early September, the resistance leaders fled abroad. IS-K is actively embracing these former military and intelligence agents to utilize their intelligence-gathering techniques and military knowledge.

A senior official said, "This situation exactly matches what happened to Saddam Hussein's generals in Iraq in the past." The scenario where Iraqi military officers disbanded after the 2003 U.S. invasion joined Al-Qaeda and IS could be repeated in Afghanistan.

There is also a possibility that IS-K, which is absorbing former military and intelligence agents, will soon expand its influence as an international terrorist organization. Colin Kahl, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, warned at the Senate Armed Services Committee on the 26th that IS-K "could have the capability to attack the United States within the next 6 to 12 months."

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