Shahab al-Muhajir
شهاب المهاجر
Ghafari, c. 2018
7th Wali of ISIS – Khorasan Province
Assumed office
April 2020
Preceded byMawlawi Aslam Farooqi
Personal details
Born
Sanaullah Ghafari

(1994-10-28) October 28, 1994 (age 29)
Kabul, Islamic State of Afghanistan
NicknameSanaullah Al-Sadiq
Military service
Allegiance ISIS– Khorasan Province
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan

Sanaullah Ghafari (Pashto: ثناءالله غفاری; born October 28, 1994), better known under his nom de guerre, Shahab al-Muhajir (Arabic: شهاب المهاجر, lit. 'Shahab the Migrant') is an Afghan militant, serving as the Emir of the Islamic State's Khorasan Province since 2020.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

Ghafari was born to a family of merchants near the Shakardara district of Kabul, his family reportedly migrated from India to Afghanistan.[5][6][7] He received religious education from the Ghaffari Madrassa in Kabul, and obtained an engineering degree at Kabul University.[8][9][5]

He worked as a sub-contractor of a security company and frequented Bagram Airfield.[10] He was a special guard of then First Vice Presidents Abdul Rashid Dostum and Amrullah Saleh, and had a license to transfer weapons since 2017.[11][12]

Militant career

He reportedly joined the Haqqani network between 2010 and 2012, and became a mid-level operative until his defection in 2015.[13][14][9] The Taliban denies that Ghafari was a member of the Haqqani network.[15]

In April 2020, Ghafari was named emir and head of operations of ISIS–K.[16] He is also reportedly the first non-Afghan or non-Pakistani national to be named emir of ISIS–K.[17]

After the 2021 Kabul airport attack masterminded by Ghafari, the Taliban announced that they would take every possible measure to capture him.[18]

Alleged death

On June 6, 2023, the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence reportedly began a "grand operation" against ISIS–K in the Sirkanay District of Kunar Province with at least 3 hideouts destroyed and 14 ISIS–K members killed.[19][20][21] The operation's objective was to kill or capture Ghafari and ISIS–K spokesman Sultan Aziz Azzam after an intelligence tip-off.[22][23][24]

Pakistani media reported Ghafari's death on June 9 under "mysterious circumstances", citing Afghan and Pakistani intelligence officials.[23] The reports were confirmed by Voice of America, citing Afghan sources.[25] A Taliban spokesman stated that the reports could not be confirmed.[23][20]

References

  1. ^ Jenkins, Jack. "Who is ISIS-K, the group officials blame for the Kabul airport bombings?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. ^ Schmitt, Eric (2021-08-25). "ISIS Branch Poses Biggest Immediate Terrorist Threat to Evacuation in Kabul". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  3. ^ Johny, Stanly (2021-08-27). "Explained | Who are ISKP, the group behind Kabul blasts?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ^ "Sanaullah Ghafari". Rewards for Justice.
  5. ^ a b "Global terrorist 'mysteriously' dies in Afghanistan". Pakistan Today. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  6. ^ ڈیسک, ویب (2023-06-08). "پاکستان مخالف دہشت گرد کا افغانستان میں پراسرار قتل". WE News (in Urdu). Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  7. ^ "ادعاهای ضد و نقیض در مورد کشته شدن رهبر داعش خراسان". ایندیپندنت فارسی (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  8. ^ "رسانه‌های پاکستانی از کشته شدن رهبر شاخه خراسان داعش در افغانستان خبر دادند". افغانستان اینترنشنال (in Persian). 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  9. ^ a b Amrullah Saleh [@AmrullahSaleh2] (November 23, 2021). "Until 2015 he was an active member of Haqqani Network & got guidance & support from. He hz been on watchlist since yrs. He is an engineer by profession and his family lives in Pak. The NDS had interviewed all his relatives in Sheker Dara of Kabul. He is not the overall Emir of IS-K" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Tajuden Soroush [@TajudenSoroush] (February 8, 2022). "Sanaullah Ghafari who the US announced him as leader of ISIS-K & offers $10M reward for his head is from Shakardara district of Kabul. According to people who knew him,he was sub-contractor of a security company during the US presence in Afg & sometimes he went to Pegram airbase" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "ISIL chief Amrullah Saleh's chief security guard turns out". Blaze Trends.
  12. ^ Bilal Sawary [@bsarwary] (November 23, 2021). "SAM here as a special guard for first VO Rashid Dostum. SAM who hails from Kabul province has an extensive network" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Bilal Sawary [@bsarwary] (November 23, 2021). "Sanaullah AKA Shahbul Muhajir. He used to work as an operative under Taj Mir Jawad currently Taliban deputy GDI and Qari Baryal in 2010-12, according to CT officer who followed SAM for years" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Eric Schmitt (August 25, 2021). "ISIS Branch Poses Biggest Immediate Terrorist Threat to Evacuation in Kabul". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  15. ^ "د پخواني دولت لومړی مرستیال د داعش رهبري و". نن ټکی اسیا (in Pashto). 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  16. ^ Presswire18.com: ISIS-K Chief: Who is Shahab al-Muhajir, the head of the group that terrorized Kabul
  17. ^ Jen Kirby (August 27, 2021). "ISIS-K, explained by an expert - What to know about the Afghanistan ISIS offshoot that waged a deadly attack at the Kabul airport". Vox. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  18. ^ Farmer, Ben (27 August 2021). "Ambitious new Isis-K leader becomes Taliban's most wanted enemy after Kabul attacks". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  19. ^ The Khorasan Diary [@khorasandiary] (June 6, 2023). "Sources in the Taliban intelligence service, the GDI say that a grand operation is underway in Kunar, Afghanistan against Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP). Three hideouts have been destroyed in the operation so far. Operation will continue till the elimination of other ISKP hideouts in the region" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ a b "سخنگوی طالبان خبر کشته شدن رهبر داعش خراسان را تایید نکرد". افغانستان اینترنشنال (in Persian). 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  21. ^ Sajjad Nuristani [@SajjadNuristan] (June 9, 2023). "Local sources from eastern Afghanistan told me that 2 days ago, the Taliban carried out a large-scale operation in Sarkani district of Kunar province to kill/arrest Sanaullah Ghafari, the leader of ISIS-K and Sultan Azzam" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ The Khorasan Diary [@khorasandiary] (June 7, 2023). "The operation by the Taliban in Kunar was on an intelligence tip off to capture or kill Islamic State Khorasan's leader, Shahab Al-Muhajir" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ a b c "رسانه‌های پاکستانی از کشته شدن رهبر شاخه خراسان داعش در افغانستان خبر دادند". افغانستان اینترنشنال (in Persian). 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  24. ^ "Who Is the New Leader of Islamic State-Khorasan Province?". Lawfare. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  25. ^ Gul, Ayaz (2023-06-09). "IS-K Leader in Afghanistan Reported Dead". Voice of America. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
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