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Why Afghanistan’s terrorism problem is bad for China – and Pakistan too
- After al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri’s killing, analysts warn instability under the Taliban could again turn Afghanistan into a terrorists’ haven
- The group’s anti-Pakistan affiliate is also gathering in strength, threatening Chinese interests in a region filled with belt and road projects
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Tom Hussainin Islamabad
It’s not even been a full year since the chaotic US-led withdrawal from Afghanistan and already American drones are back in the war-torn country’s skies, hunting terrorists the Taliban had vowed never to allow back on Afghan soil again.
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Since a strike on a house in Kabul early in the morning of July 31 killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri, US drones have been spotted circling over Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, seeking out more militant leaders from across the jihadist spectrum.
Their presumed targets paint a murky picture, seemingly ranging from members of groups allied to the Taliban – al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – to its sworn enemies Isis-K, the so-called Islamic State’s regional affiliate.
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Taliban claims to have killed 3 Isis-K fighters during gunfight in Afghan capital
Taliban claims to have killed 3 Isis-K fighters during gunfight in Afghan capital
It would appear the air campaign has had ground support as well: roadside bombs reportedly killed three senior TTP commanders and the group’s intelligence chief in two separate attacks on Sunday last week, both in Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan.
Aside from the strike that killed Zawahri, Washington has not officially commented on any other operations in the area. For its part, Islamabad has rejected claims that a US drone traversed Pakistani airspace to assassinate the al-Qaeda chief, though security analysts have little doubt that logistically this must have been the case.
A White House spokesman merely told reporters on August 2 that “there was no notification to anybody before … the strike”.
Some have speculated that the aircraft spotted hunting TTP and Isis-K militants inside Afghanistan recently were not in fact US drones, but Chinese-designed Wing Loong II ones operated by Pakistan’s military. Islamabad has dismissed such assertions, although it did use its Chinese drones to carry out cross-border attacks on TTP camps in April, apparently in retaliation for a surge of terror attacks within Pakistan.
‘The Afghan people will suffer most’
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