A US intelligence reports stated that Afghanistan could be used as a base to train al-Qaeda and launch attacks on America over the next two years.
The CIA has said that Al-Qaeda has been depleted after years of drone strikes and intelligence disruption, but that the tide is starting to turn after the Taliban recaptured Kabul and imposed its new government.
#US intelligence officials warn that the terrorist group al-Qaeda could re-establish itself in #Afghanistan within the next one to two years and launch attacks on US soil. https://t.co/nCvmyBWUQJ
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) September 14, 2021
“We’re already beginning to see indications of some potential movement of Al-Qaeda to Afghanistan,” said CIA Deputy Director David Cohen at a recent security conference. “But it’s early days, and we’ll obviously keep a very close eye on that.”
Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said: “The current assessment, probably conservatively, is one to two years for Al-Qaeda to build some capability to at least threaten the homeland.” Previous assessments for the group’s revival were given at a minimum of two years.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of a major militant group that operates in the border region with Pakistan, has been appointed interior minister responsible for implementing the promise not to allow Al-Qaeda to regroup. His network has had links with Al-Qaeda since the 1980s.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
