US counter-terrorism plans include Taliban to push back IS?

A report by the Washington Post revealedthat the Taliban in Afghanistan are ready to cooperate with the United States authorities in combating the militant group Islamic State (IS). The report suggested that the Taliban see the IS militants as "a threat to their own powerbase".

The Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021 when US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. It still seeks global recognition. Quoting US defence officials, the report mentioned that the "Afghan government" has been battling IS since it seized power.

The Post quoted a senior defence official as saying that "the duelling groups of religious fanatics are openly warring".

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As quoted, the official said that "I would never want to say that we had mortgaged our counter-terrorism to a group like the Taliban, but it's a fact that, operationally, they put pressure on ISIS-K. In a strange world, we have mutually beneficial objectives there."

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The Post has also credited some part of its report to the recent leak of classified Pentagon documents, to highlight how Afghanistan has become a significant coordination site for the Islamic State to plan attacks across Europe and Asia after President Biden withdrew personnel from the nation.

The report also mentioned that IS has been attacking Afghan Taliban's targets and as a counter, the latter targeting the former's hideouts.

The leaked documents assessed by the media outlet revealed specific efforts by IS to target embassies, churches, business centres and even last year's FIFA World Cup tournament.

The assessment, which is labelled top-secret, noted: "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 model will likely enable ISIS to overcome obstacles — such as competent security services — and reduce some plot timelines, minimizing disruption opportunities," the document, which also had logos of Defense Department organisations, further mentioned.

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Meanwhile, on the reports of the Afghan Taliban teaming up with the US, there's nothing official and the Biden administration officials have even declined to verify the leaked documents' authenticity, but they did admit counter-terrorism records since taking office.

As quoted, Adrienne Watson, who is a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement that the US "maintains the ability to remove terrorists from the battlefield without permanent troop presence on the ground." Watson also noted that the US has reorganised counter-terrorism operations to address future threats "anywhere".

As quoted by The Post, Nathan Sales, who is the State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism said that IS "has the ambition to attack American interests in the region and ultimately the US homeland itself" and also urged to take urgent actions.

Meanwhile, DAWN quoted a spokesperson for the Taliban's Political Office, Suhail Shaheen, as saying that IS "has been suppressed" and the report The Post "does not reflect ground realities in Afghanistan".

He further added that "such reports reflect personal desires" of their authors and the "fact is that the [IS] has no physical presence in Afghanistan as it had during the invasion".

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