Pakistan’s intelligence services have scored a major success in the fight against terrorism by arresting Sultan Aziz Azzam, one of the key leaders and spokesman of the dreaded Islamic State-Khorasan group.
Pakistan’s intelligence service has detained the leader of one of the branches of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, a senior intelligence official said. TASR writes about it according to reports from the AFP and AP agencies.
- The IS-K leader was detained by Pakistan’s intelligence agency.
- The US designated Azzam as a terrorist as early as 2021.
- The detention took place during his attempt to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.
- IS-K claimed responsibility for the recent terrorist attacks on Crocus City Hall.
The US has sought to detain Azzam since 2021
Sultan Aziz Azzam also acted as a spokesman for the Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K) and was detained on May 16, according to a report by the UN monitoring group. The United States has sought to detain Azzam since 2021, when the US State Department designated him as a terrorist.
“He was not just a spokesman but was considered one of the top leaders of the group in the region,” a Pakistani intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to the report, he was detained while he was trying to enter Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan. “We did not inform the public about the detention because it could affect counter-terrorism operations” that were initiated after Azzam’s interrogation, he added.
Attack on Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow
IS Khorasan is an offshoot of the jihadist group and in the past has claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. Its members claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, on March 22, 2024. 145 people were killed and more than 500 were injured. It was the bloodiest terrorist attack in Russia in almost two decades.
Taliban authorities have repeatedly stated that security is their top priority and have vowed to crack down on IS-K and other militant groups in Afghanistan.
But Pakistan has accused the Taliban of allowing Afghan territory to be used to harbor militants, and relations between the two countries have soured significantly in recent months amid deadly border clashes.
