Main Goal — Expanding Influence in the Central Asian Region
Source: Bozgasht News Agency (Return)
Original article: اتحاد مخفی طالبان و داعش
Bozgasht Research Group: Amid the growing activity of the ISIS-Khorasan branch in Central Asia and increasing concern among senior security officials in these countries, new intelligence indicates that the root of these developments lies in a covert alliance and deliberate support from the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.
According to the published information, the Taliban have not taken real measures to restrain the ISIS-Khorasan branch on their territory. In some cases, they have secretly supported the group and facilitated its cross-border operations. The suspicious arrests of ISIS members in Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and recently Kyrgyzstan—as well as the dissemination of fake information from falsified sources by the Taliban—point to a targeted information operation aimed at diverting global attention from the real connection between the Taliban and the ISIS-Khorasan branch.
The creation of fake social media accounts impersonating high-ranking regional security officials—such as General Bahodur Kurbanov, head of Uzbekistan's State Security Service—demonstrates the Taliban's covert tools for manipulating public opinion and distorting facts about their support for ISIS-Khorasan.
Recently, Taliban intelligence created a fake account in the name of Uzbekistan’s top intelligence officer, operating in Russian on the social network X. The latest post from this account concerned the arrest of ISIS-Khorasan members in Namangan. The post claimed that the detainees had ties to Tajikistan and Pakistan but made no mention of ISIS-Khorasan's central base in Afghanistan.
It is evident that by launching such fake accounts on social networks—especially Telegram and X—the Taliban are attempting to conceal the reality of ISIS’s presence in Afghanistan and their own connection to the group, while shifting the geographical focus of ISIS’s expansion and influence toward Tajikistan and Pakistan.
Security experts claim that such manipulative tactics by the Taliban not only threaten regional security but also provoke a complex and dangerous intelligence game in the heart of Central Asia, which directly endangers its stability.
"ISIS’s Plan in Afghanistan Is to Infiltrate Central Asia"
Despite maintaining diplomatic and economic relations with the Taliban, Russia and most Central Asian countries continue to express concern over border security and the possible infiltration of extremists and weapons from Afghanistan.
The Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council stated—following multiple arrests of ISIS-Khorasan members in Central Asia—that Moscow is seriously concerned about ISIS’s activities in Afghanistan. According to him, ISIS’s goal is to expand its influence into Central Asian countries and Russia. Referring indirectly to the Taliban and their support for ISIS-Khorasan, Yury Kokov told Rossiyskaya Gazeta:
“What causes special concern is the activity of sponsors of the international terrorist organization ISIS, who are operating in this region in order to export terrorism to Central Asia and then to Russia.”
He identified Afghanistan as a source of instability and a threat to neighboring countries, especially those in Central Asia. Kokov also stated:
“The risk of radical Islamist forces gaining ground in the region and expanding their influence—particularly in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan—has significantly increased.”
Previously, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov noted that the ongoing instability in Afghanistan is the main source of transnational crime and terrorist threats within the territory of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Clear Violation of International Commitments
Despite repeated promises to regional countries, including those made during joint meetings and agreements with regional actors, the Taliban have taken no real steps to combat terrorism, particularly ISIS and Al-Qaeda. On the contrary, Afghanistan under their control has become a multi-layered safe haven for terrorist organizations.
Yusuf Aryayi, a university professor and expert in international relations, states that the Taliban, by developing ideological and logistical infrastructure for extremists (including through so-called "Madrasat al-Jihad"), have created conditions for raising a new generation of militants loyal to global terrorism projects such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
According to him, thousands of students graduate each year from these radicalized madrasas, but the Taliban do not disclose where or for what purpose these individuals are deployed.
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia — New Targets of ISIS Under Taliban Protection
In a recent case, the Kyrgyzstan State Committee for National Security reported the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Bishkek on charges of supporting and participating in the activities of ISIS-Khorasan. According to security sources, the detainee had pledged allegiance to the head of the ISIS-Khorasan branch in Afghanistan and received ideological materials from him, including radical books such as "Al-Masa'il al-Marziyah" ("Pleasing Issues") and "Al-Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah" ("The Middle Creed") by Ibn Taymiyyah.
Similar incidents were reported last week in Uzbekistan and Russia, where underground cells linked to ISIS-Khorasan were uncovered. Uzbekistan’s State Security Service announced the dismantling of a network in the city of Namangan. The leader of this group was a 19-year-old woman from the Davlatabad district who had undergone radical training in Istanbul and returned to promote the ideology of ISIS-Khorasan via Telegram.
Official sources stated that these Telegram channels were used to spread fundamentalist ideas such as martyrdom, takfir (excommunication), and global jihad—concepts drawn from the teachings of ISIS, the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda. These same ideas are reportedly being taught to children and adolescents in Taliban-run schools called Madrasat al-Jihad. It is said that these Telegram channels had at least 121 members, and during the operation, 16 people were detained, including a university professor.
Jihadi Schools — A Conveyor Belt of Radicalism for Al-Qaeda and ISIS
Meanwhile, research collected by the investigative team at Bozgasht News Agency shows that one of the main pillars of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups' expansion in Afghanistan and the region is the ideological education system of religious schools operated by the Taliban.
What currently operates in Afghanistan under the name "jihadi schools" has, in reality, become an organized center for the dissemination of extremism. The primary goal of these schools is not to teach religious sciences but to train new generations of radicals to carry out terrorist missions both within Afghanistan and beyond, particularly in Central Asia.
These Taliban-operated jihadi and religious schools, which promote fundamentalist rhetoric, are overseen by networks closely tied to Taliban intelligence structures and the Haqqani network. These institutions actively and systematically indoctrinate youth and, through logistical networks, send them to the frontlines of transnational armed conflicts.
The Taliban — A Hidden and Endless Threat
The recent arrests of ISIS members in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia show that the Taliban are not merely passive observers of extremist activities. Over the past four years, amid global indifference toward Afghanistan, the Taliban have transformed into a coordinated and centralized hub for managing, directing, and exporting global terrorism.
This situation poses a direct and obvious threat not only to Afghanistan itself but also to Central Asia and the entire region. At the root of this threat are hundreds of Taliban-run jihadi schools and educational centers spread across Afghanistan.
