UNITED NATIONS: Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, has warned that the Afghanistan-based Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is a serious threat to regional security.
Speaking at the meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Nebenzya pointed to the continuing threat of terrorism in parts of Africa and Afghanistan.
The Russian envoy said the challenge posed by the movement of foreign terrorist fighters and the transfer of their combat experience from one region to another had still not been resolved.
The Russian envoy also highlighted changes in the methods and tools used by terrorist groups, saying they increasingly rely on new technologies, digital financial tools, drones, artificial intelligence and modern communications networks for recruitment, propaganda, financing and coordinating attacks.
Describing these threats as transnational, he stressed the need for coordinated international cooperation to counter them.
In recent years, IS-Khorasan has carried out attacks beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
One of the most prominent examples was the 22 March 2024 terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, which killed more than 130 people and was claimed by ISIS-K.
Such attacks have increased international concern that Afghanistan could once again become a base for exporting terrorism.
Pakistan’s operations against ISKP
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) killed five terrorists of the ISKP terrorist group in an intelligence-based counterterrorism operation near Shamshatoo Camp on the outskirts of Peshawar.
According to the CTD, the counterterrorism operation targeted terrorists of the Afghanistan-based terrorist organisation who were preparing further terrorist attacks.
The officials said one of the terrorists killed was involved in the February 2026 Tarlai imambargah attack in Islamabad, while others were linked to high-profile killings, including the assassination of Maulana Khan Zeb and Senator Hidayatullah, and other terrorist activities.
The CTD said the counterterrorism operation was launched after receiving intelligence about the presence of ISKP terrorists at a compound in the Shamshatoo Camp area.
The Peshawar operation comes against the backdrop of a sustained Pakistani campaign against the ISKP and other terrorist groups.
In February 2025, Pakistani authorities apprehended Mohammad Sharifullah, an Afghan national and senior ISKP commander accused of involvement in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport. He was subsequently handed over to the United States.
The Abbey Gate attack during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan killed 13 American service members and around 170 Afghan civilians.
US President Donald Trump publicly thanked Pakistan for helping capture Sharifullah, while Pakistan described his arrest as part of its wider counter-terrorism cooperation.
Pakistan also arrested Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior ISKP spokesperson. A United Nations report said Pakistan’s arrest of Azzam significantly degraded the terrorist group’s operational and propaganda capabilities.
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Azzam had served as ISKP’s spokesperson and was closely associated with the terrorist group’s propaganda apparatus, including its Al-Azaim media network.
Afghan sanctuary concern
Pakistan’s latest operation also comes amid continuing tensions with Afghanistan over terrorist sanctuaries.
The 38th report of the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, covering December 16, 2025 to June 9, 2026, warned of deepening operational and facilitation links among several terrorist organisations operating in and around Afghanistan.
The report identified the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group as the most immediate terrorist threat to Pakistan. It also highlighted links involving Al-Qaeda, ISKP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorist groups.
The findings have reinforced Islamabad’s longstanding contention that terrorist groups are using Afghan territory for planning, training, recruitment and facilitation of attacks against Pakistan.
