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U.S. Cooperates With Taliban to Counter ISKP Threat

8/13/2026

26 2 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The United States is cooperating with the Taliban to combat ISKP.
An ISKP suicide attack at Kabul Airport in August 2021 killed 13 service members and about 170 civilians.
Despite CIA Director William Burns’s April 2021 warning that a pullout would raise al-Qaeda risk, President Joe Biden withdrew forces four months later.
U.S. officials say Taliban repression of ISKP defections and the group’s shift to international attacks create strategic costs.

History

Historical Context

After the October 2001 launch of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States and the Northern Alliance ousted the Taliban and seized Kabul by November. The war’s shift in 2021 saw the Taliban regain power, while ISIS-K emerged as the dominant extremist group, numbering about 1,000-1,500 fighters by mid-2016. Consequently, Washington now seeks limited Taliban cooperation to curb ISIS-K.

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Story summary

The United States is cooperating with the Taliban to combat ISKP.
An ISKP suicide attack at Kabul Airport in August 2021 killed 13 service members and about 170 civilians.
Despite CIA Director William Burns’s April 2021 warning that a pullout would raise al-Qaeda risk, President Joe Biden withdrew forces four months later.
U.S. officials say Taliban repression of ISKP defections and the group’s shift to international attacks create strategic costs.

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