Afghan Witness Reports

The account presents itself as the news outlet Afghanistan International, which has been a common target for mimic accounts – AW investigators have identified at least five accounts mimicking Afghanistan International in the last three months.

Several hundred people gathered at Kabul International Airport on February 8 after rumours circulated that Afghans could fly to Turkey to support the earthquake relief effort – however, AW’s assessment of the arrested men’s social media profiles suggests they were not initiators or significant amplifiers of the ‘flights to Turkey’ story.

This was the second raid on an alleged ISKP hideout in Kabul in 2023 - and comes at a time when several embassies and international organisations have suspended operations or evacuated staff over concerns of a large-scale attack.

The burning of the Quran provides a relatively easy opportunity for the Taliban to mobilise public opinion and protest – and position themselves as defenders of the Islamic faith

AW found 13 Taliban-linked accounts with the blue tick, though several have since lost their mark of verification.

While there have been many claims of public punishments in Afghanistan over the past four months, this was the first instance where AW investigators obtained visual confirmation.

The Taliban claimed that two key resistance commanders, Daud Khatar and Mansoor Jawanmard, were among the detainees, however, AW found no visual proof of commander Khatar’s arrest.

In an image and video shared on social media, AW investigators visually confirmed at least 16 victims of the attack.

The alleged suicide bomber, Abdul-Jabbar, was identified by AW investigators as one of the two attackers of the Kabul Longan Hotel last month, who was seen escaping by climbing down the hotel's balconies during the hotel attack.

Pro-Taliban social media activists accused female NGO workers of espionage and spreading immorality.

The death of the commander was confirmed by both Pro-Taliban social media users and the Andarab Resistance Front, who shared a statement on their Facebook page. Unconfirmed social media reports claim dozens of Andarab Resistance Front fighters were also killed after running out of ammunition.

Recent pledges to the new Islamic State Caliph featured multiple groups in Badakhshan, suggesting it may be an increased area of operations for ISKP.