The group, based in the center of the Afghan province of Baghlan, belongs to ISIS* and is under the auspices of the Haqqani Network*
MOSCOW - KUNDUZ, March 1 - "Sangar", Talib Aliyev, Jamshid Badakhshi. Earlier, the news agency Sputnik Tajikistan reported about the presence of about 220 foreign fighters with their families in the city of Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.
A Sangar correspondent in Kunduz also confirmed the news, citing his sources in Baghlan, saying that more than 300 militants from the ISIS-Khorasan* group, led by a Tajik citizen, were stationed there.
Photo: Inhisorot Gate (photo from the terrorist attack two years ago)
“He is known as Abu Omar Tajikistani. His real name is unknown. The group also includes Central Asian Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, as well as Chinese Uighurs. During the previous Karzai-Ghani governments, they were located in the Dandigori area, the mountainous region of Baghlan, and after the Taliban's coming to power, they moved first to the bakery plant in the city of Puli Khumri, and then to Inhisarat, since the territory of the bakery plant was unsafe for them. The Inhisarat Houses are located behind the guest house of prominent commander Habib Andarabi (killed by the Taliban in October 2020) and across from Andarabi Street in Puli Khumri. Many multi-story buildings have been built here,” a source told Sangar.
The source claims that the hostility between ISIS and the Taliban is a lie, but the first is controlled by the Haqqani Network, led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister of the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban.
Earlier, the Tajik Sputnik, citing photos and videos, reported that the families of the terrorists have been living in the Silu Puli Khumri residential area for about two months.
“These high-rise buildings are known as Inhisarat and belong to the Petroleum Department of the Baghlan Provincial Administration. Families of terrorists live in four four-story buildings. These buildings were built during the reign of Karzai-Ghani. They were supposed to be distributed to people, which did not happen. During the coronavirus crisis, one of these buildings was set aside for a special hospital. This area belongs to the government. Inhisarat has located about 2.5 km from Sari Chavka, the center of Puli Khumri, and is one of the central districts of the city,” writes Sputnik Tajikistan.
According to this source, people call these foreigners “Chechens” and the buildings “Chechen houses,” but apparently they are citizens of Central Asian countries or Chinese Uyghurs.
“This place is like a castle, closed on all four sides with high barbed wire and has a security system. It also has a gate. Only families of militants live inside and no one understands what is happening there. No one can enter this place except those with special connections,” writes Sputnik Tajikistan.
The source of this agency depicts foreigners, mostly tall and husky, with round faces, long beards, shaved mustaches, red cheeks, and narrow eyes, similar to Central Asian Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Kazakhs or Chinese Uyghurs.
“In their place of residence, they walk around without weapons. Only their commander, who appears on Fridays before prayer surrounded by bodyguards, has a pistol with him. Their mosque - a former club - is located between buildings. One day they warned their neighbors on this side of the wall not to turn on the music or they would be punished. They do not speak Tajik-Persian well, as foreigners they speak with difficulty and accent,” writes Sputnik Tajikistan.
The presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan calls into question the Taliban's claims of lack of cooperation with foreign and international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda* and ISIS. The Taliban reportedly issue Afghan identity cards to all foreign fighters and recognize them as Afghan citizens.
Earlier, Russian and Tajik officials announced the presence of 6,000 foreign terrorists in northern Afghanistan. The fears of the countries of the north lie in the fact that their presence on the borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a potential threat to regional security. The Taliban have repeatedly promised that there will be no threat from their territory to the countries north of the Amu Darya.
Baghlan is one of the central provinces of Afghanistan and is located in the south of the province of Kunduz, bordering Tajikistan. Foreign fighters have been in remote areas of the province since the Karzai-Ghani administration, and no one, including US troops stationed in the province, paid any attention to this fact.
* The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
