Up to 23,000 terrorists operating in Afghanistan, Russian report says
Report lists ISIS, TTP, Al-Qaeda; warns of foreign fighters and drug surge
Web Desk
February 24, 2026
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said that between 20,000 and 23,000 terrorist fighters are currently operating in Afghanistan, with more than half of them foreign nationals.
According to the ministry’s
report, the total number of terrorists from international organisations active in Afghanistan is estimated at 20,000 to 23,000, and more than half are foreign fighters.
Key groups include ISIS, with about 3,000 members; the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with between 5,000 and 7,000 members; Al-Qaeda, numbering between 400 and 1,500 members; the Islamic Movement of East Turkestan (ETIM), with 300 to 1,200 members; the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), now called the Islamic Party of Turkestan, with 150 to 500 members; and Jamaat Ansarullah, with around 150 to 250 members.
The report said the TTP, mainly based in Afghanistan’s southeast and east, continues to focus its attacks on Pakistan, heightening tensions between the two countries.
It highlighted the activities of ISIS-K (Khorasan), which it said has set up training camps and sleeper cells in several regions of Afghanistan.
While ISIS-K does not pose a direct threat to the current Taliban regime, its attacks have significant “reputational consequences”, aimed at undermining public confidence in the Taliban’s ability to maintain security.
The group is mainly active in the east, north and northeast and is seeking to expand into Central Asia to establish a new caliphate, the report said.
