Predicted To Have Several Thousand Troops, Pentagon Says ISIS Could Attack The United States In Six Months

Ilustrasi Pentagon. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy photo)

JAKARTA - The intelligence community assesses ISIS in Afghanistan has the intent and ability to attack the United States in just six months, a Pentagon official told Congress.

The statement, made by the Political Adviser to the Secretary of Defense of the United States, is the latest reminder that Afghanistan can still pose serious national security problems for the United States.

The Taliban as the ruler in Afghanistan today is the real enemy of ISIS, serious about upholding law and order, facing suicide bombings and attacks claimed by ISIS.

These included bombings targeting the minority Shia sect, including the ISIS beheading of members of the Taliban militia force in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kahl said it was still unclear whether the Taliban had the capability to effectively fight ISIS, following the US withdrawal in August. The United States is fighting the Taliban as well as invading groups such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

"This is our assessment, the Taliban and ISIS-K are sworn enemies. So, the Taliban are very motivated to pursue ISIS-K. Their ability to do so, I think, has to be determined," said the senior Pentagon official, using the acronym. for ISIS in Afghanistan.

Kahl estimates ISIS-K has a cadre of several thousand fighters. He said Al Qaeda in Afghanistan poses a more complex problem, given its ties to the Taliban.

It was this relationship that sparked the US military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks by Al Qaeda in New York and Washington. The Taliban have hidden the leaders of Al Qaeda.

He said it would take Al Qaeda "a year or two" to recover the ability to carry out attacks outside Afghanistan against the United States.

Earlier, President Joe Biden said the United States would continue to be vigilant against threats emanating from Afghanistan by conducting intelligence-gathering operations in the country that would identify threats from groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Kahl said the goal was to disrupt the groups so that ISIS and Al Qaeda were unable to attack the United States.

"We must be vigilant in disturbing it," he said.

However, United States officials personally warn, identifying and disrupting groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS is very difficult without troops on the ground. Meanwhile, drones capable of striking ISIS and Al Qaeda targets are being flown in from the Gulf.

However, Kahl said the United States does not yet have an agreement with neighboring Afghanistan to host troops for counterterrorism efforts.

To note, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of the new Taliban government said the threat from ISIS militants would be addressed. He also stressed that Afghanistan would not be a base for attacks against other countries.