Reports and Analysis

In recent weeks, there has been a spate of incidents in Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat city in which the Taliban have displayed the bodies of men they describe as ‘kidnappers’, ‘insurgents’ or ‘thieves’.

After eight weeks without any high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, ISKP target two high-ranking officials on consecutive days.

This is the first time ISKP have directly addressed reports of a Taliban raid.

Interviews with women in the sector reveal that some organisations have replaced their female directors with men to allow operations to continue, while one president of a women-focused NGO says she is using her personal savings to keep office doors open.

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. 

While one of the protesters was reportedly released the next day, women's rights protester Narges Sadat is thought to still be in detention.

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.