Qari Saeed Khosty, who handles social media responsibilities for the Taliban, tries to downplay the obvious threat of ISIS. Yet while putting on a show about how the Taliban has no need for cooperation “with anyone against ISIS,” Khosty contradictorily admits that the Islamic State has “returned and grew.” The truth is that the Taliban is accepting any help it can get, which will go to support its battle against ISIS-K, as well as aid in its power play for regional dominance.

A real view of the threat that ISIS-K poses to the Taliban:

As ISIS was defeated in Iraq and Syria, a splinter Taliban faction formed a new group calling itself the Islamic State Khorasan province, or ISIS-K, in Afghanistan. Both the Taliban and the U.S. saw the group as a threat and Pentagon leadership has even acknowledged instances in which U.S. airstrikes against ISIS effectively assisted Taliban engagements on the ground.

The Taliban is now being aided by many countries and groups, including Pakistan, which has partnered with the Taliban for a long time; the UN, which is calling on every country for funds to rebuild Afghanistan (despite the fact that the Taliban will use those funds to gain dominance and expand the scope of Sharia); and China, which is developing infrastructure in Afghanistan.

“The Taliban Blames the U.S. for Afghanistan’s Growing ISIS Problem,” by Tom O’Connor, Newsweek, October 13, 2021:

The Taliban blames the United States for growing problems presented by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Afghanistan, where a deadly rivalry has disrupted the early days of the newly declared Islamic Emirate.

Ahmad Yasir, protocol officer of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, is among the senior officials who are of the opinion that outside powers were to blame for ISIS’ presence in Afghanistan, where an attack claimed by the jihadis against a Shiite Muslim mosque last week claimed the lives of dozens and injured hundreds more.

Asked by Newsweek if the ISIS threat had grown since the withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of August and if the Taliban specifically blamed the U.S. for this increased threat, Yasir replied, “Yes, there is no doubt that the malicious hand is behind the ISIS attack.”

And he argued that his group had evidence to prove this claim, though he declined to share at this date and time, saying such materials would be made available “in the future.”

Also holding the U.S. responsible for the ISIS foothold was Qari Saeed Khosty, who handles social media responsibilities for the Taliban. He dismissed the notion that the group now in charge of Afghanistan would need to work with the U.S. to take on a common foe.

“The Islamic Emirate has no need for cooperation with anyone against ISIS, because ISIS does not have popular roots in Afghanistan,” Khosty told Newsweek. “As you see, it was with American help and the help of the Kabul administration, that ISIS returned and grew.”

The Taliban and ISIS are enemies with conflicting ambitions in their respective struggles.

The Taliban is rooted in Afghanistan, where the group emerged from the wake of a U.S.-aided mujahideen struggle against a Soviet intervention from 1979 to 1988. The conflict also gave birth to Al-Qaeda, which would take root in Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of much of the country until 2001, when the 9/11 attacks prompted a U.S.-led military campaign that dismantled the Taliban-led government.

The Islamic Emirate would return as an insurgency for the next 20 years until being reestablished as U.S. forces withdrew in August. Al-Qaeda, however, would spread elsewhere as the U.S. next invaded Iraq, toppling longtime leader Saddam Hussein and stirring a sectarian war that saw both Sunni and Shiite Muslim militias take up arms.

The most violent of these organizations was Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which declared the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006 and ultimately took advantage of a civil war in neighbor Syria to extend its presence there and rebrand as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or the Levant, in 2013.