According to U.S. intelligence findings leaked on the Discord messaging platform and obtained by The Washington Post, ISIS is using Afghanistan as a base for plotting terrorist attacks in Europe and Asia and aspirational attacks against the U.S. The Discord leaks include dozens of classified Pentagon documents, allegedly leaked on the messaging platform by a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman named Jack Teixeira.
“ISIS has been developing a cost-effective model for external operations that relies on resources from outside Afghanistan, operatives in target countries, and extensive facilitation networks,” the assessment concluded. “The model will likely enable ISIS to overcome obstacles — such as competent security services — and reduce some plot timelines, minimizing disruption opportunities.”
Historically, Afghanistan’s ISIS affiliate, ISIS-K, has been at odds with the Taliban. The Taliban is currently the ruling administration in Afghanistan.
The intel about ISIS using Afghanistan to plot terrorist attacks comes less than two years after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops from the country. It’s also not the only information coming to light from the Discord leak. Part of the leak includes a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are not likely to happen before the end of 2023.
Straight Arrow News aims to identify when stories are being underreported on either side of the political aisle and media landscape. This story is a Media Miss for left-leaning outlets, with most sources reporting it being either right-leaning or center-oriented outlets, according to Ground.News.
