CEP Releases Updated Afghanistan Resources Following Recent Taliban and ISIS Attacks

(New York, NY) –- The Counter Extremism Project today released updated resources on Afghanistan following recent Taliban and ISIS attacks that left at least 32 people dead and more than 180 others wounded.

On November 12, a Taliban suicide bomber killed four Americans and wounded 17 after he was able to gain entry to the largest American military facility in Afghanistan, the Bagram Airfield, located about 30 miles from the capital, Kabul. Another Taliban suicide bombing and gun attack at the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, left at least six people dead and 120 wounded on November 10. In October, ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks on tribal elders in Nangahar that left at least four people dead, and on a Shite shrine that left 18 worshipers dead and more than 50 wounded.

Afghanistan: Extremism and Counter-Extremism traces the origins of al-Qaeda and the Taliban to the Soviet invasion and Afghan civil war in the 1980s and early 1990s, which brought thousands of Islamic fighters into the country, including al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. In 1996, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, allowing al-Qaeda a safe haven from which to plan attacks. In 2001, the Taliban were driven from power by U.S. forces.

According to the United Nations, Afghanistan suffered a record number of casualties in 2015, with 3,500 civilians killed and almost 7,500 wounded, as both the Taliban and ISIS increased attacks following the end of NATO combat operations in 2014. In September 2015, the Taliban captured a major Afghan city—the northern provincial capital of Kunduz—for the first time since 2001.

For requests for interviews, please contact CEP at media@counterextremism.com.

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Fact:

On January 23, 2019, two car bombs exploded outside of a mosque in Benghazi, Libya, killing 41 people and injuring 80 others. No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but remnants suggested an ISIS affiliate was responsible.  

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