the pakistan taliban joint to form the khorasan wing.re were a number of pakistani taliban militants who joined and switched their allegiance to khorasan. they were able to attack pakistan from connections with local groups. in may 2019, they decided to work on an individual basis instead of collaborating with other local militant groups. >> the taliban and isil-k are not the only groups operating around afghanistan. al qaeda has been a primary u.s. target in afghanistan since 2001. a report by the u.s. defense department said the group poses a limited threat because it is focused on survival. there is also a semi-autonomous component of the afghan taliban and an ally of al qaeda. there are a number of smaller groups like the pakistani taliban. its fighters fought alongside the afghan taliban against the afghan government. reports seem to suggest that isil-k are linked to the taliban via a third party and that party is the hakani network. what is the relationship between the three? >> it's not really clear that the hakani network is link

and one of them was isis-khorasan.d, what is really afghanistan-iran, part of -- that part of the world. and so, they keep up in 2014, 2015 and they became pretty powerful, pretty quickly. and became a problem for the u.s. forces there but also for the taliban who they don't like particularly much. so they have been fighting each other, as well as fighting our forces. >> so their -- their vision for afghanistan is different than -- than the taliban's? i mean, what is the conflict between the two? i mean, is it religious? or is it, you know, mafia groups wanting power? >> there's a little bit of both because, obviously, afghanistan is sort of land of warlords and they have been fighting over various things for centuries. but incredibly, isis khorasan things that the taliban is too moderate. they think that, for example, so the cooperation that's taking place at the -- at the airport is -- is -- is just more proof that the taliban is -- is too moderate. it's working with the best. we don't trust these guys. and so, they'

and there will be no way to go after this isis-khorasan group without the help of the taliban. and that's going to be a very interesting relationship to see that one evolve if the united states is going to go after these people. i think reality is that the taliban will be in the best position and have the best intelligence such as it is to go after isis khorasan and take advantage perhaps on behalf of the united states, but the majority of people killed here also afghans. >> bizarre bed fellows the situation makes. sam kiley and mark hertling, thank you. more on the attacks in afghanistan in a moment, including a conversation with a man we talked to last night who is an american green card holder who can't get out. and a group of students and their families from the san diego area visiting family in afghanistan trapped trying to get out. th the efforts to get them out next. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this... your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with

civilians and then the tragedy of those who were killed so unfortunately with this attack, isis khorasanast year's. they have pursued over the last ear's. ~ ., ., , , ., year's. we have obviously had the attack _ year's. we have obviously had the attack now, _ year's. we have obviously had the attack now, looking i year's. we have obviously had i the attack now, looking forward to the future of afghanistan, how does this affect the dynamic between these two groups in the country and what is the impact of that on the afghan people?— is the impact of that on the afghan people? now that the taliban is the _ afghan people? now that the taliban is the controlling i taliban is the controlling government in afghanistan, they are going to have to come up with a strategy to deal with isis khorasan in their territory, and whether that means reconstituting some element of the afghan national army and some of these specialised counterterrorism capabilities that existed, that is something that is unclear at the moment. if not, then it's going to be the taliban taking on isis khorasan one on one witho

>> well, the state of the khorasan province as they are known. over the past five year, six of the leaders, and six of the leaders have been killed or captured or recapture and what i have seen in the press, the taliban when they released the prisoners from bagram air force base, they have killed the last that was caught. so despite the losses of the mid-level operatives, they have managed to be resilient particularly when it comes to these terrorist operation, and measuring isis-k is not a matter of fighting, but to operate. because of the pressure, they are able to decentralize and become independent cells. they are good at low tech operation. when we say complex, it is not like a great deal of sophistication, but it is a cell to attack and bring in the first responders and then the second attack. we are trying to bring in the details of how it was executed, but i suspect that is how it was brought in. so both recognize the threat of the isis-k, and we we hear about credible reporting, that means a great deal of confidence, and sometimes when t

when we talk about the k, it's khorasan, khorasan province, which is an islamist reference to the region scene in 2015 they set up shop in kunar province. u.s. and afghan forces were able to beat back that base in eastern afghanistan. however, isis-k remained capable in kabul, and they have conducted numerous attacks against in particular, the hazar a-shia minority in afghanistan. so they certainly have different goals than the taliban, and they are opposed to each other. now, that's not to say that isis-k might draw from taliban or herkani network elements. >> explain to people what the network is. many people think they are the biggest concern in the region. >> they are. the hakani network is essentially part of the taliban, yet has its own separate base. they were very established in eastern afghanistan going back into the 1980s, and when the taliban took power in 1994 hakani was the tribal affairs minister in the taliban government, and basically controlled the eastern part of afghanistan. so they have always worked hand in glove. it's kind of like a distinction without a difference

kp we call it, the khorasan province.inst them. they're a small group, pretty much decentralized and scattered. without a local partner with whom to work and cia sources on the ground, we're flying a little blind. >> will they be targeting u.s. individuals, u.s. troops, the taliban? what do you see? >> their principle target is us that, es why they're such a rival who sees them as a threat for their own resources and manpower. i think they'd try to stage the most simple attacks as they could which might lookly be the people waiting outside the airport. it would be hard for them to do much damage to u.s. forces except with the fleeing troops that left the afghan army, there's probably a lot of weapons available that include missiles and rockets that could be a challenge for u.s. forces. >> u.s. left behind tons and tons of weapons including guns and tanks and armored personnel carriers, all of which, if these guys get their hold on it, they could use it very devastatingly. what worries me is so many of these isis-k, al qae

i should just correct one thing, there is no such province in afghanistan as a khorasan.horasan province, which president biden has americanized to call it isis—k. but khorasan is a name given to the swathe of central asia, including parts of iran which they have adopted, they've cloaked themselves in this mantle. they are smaller and weaker than the taliban, they've fought several clashes with them — they are accusing the taliban of being sell—outs, saying this wasn't a taliban victory, "you made this in the —— deal in the air conditioned rooms and dough half." so they've just the military victory and take over, and they've gone underground which is very worrying. now last year, they carried out 2a attacks in kabul alone. their numbers are not huge, probably less than 2000 overall today. you are right in saying their base is in the east of the country, but i don't know if you remember when donald trump in his first few months in office, he ordered the dropping of a massive thing called a massive air ordinance bomb, also known as the mother of all bombs, a 20,000lb bomb,

so isis-k is isis khorasan. khorasan refers to an area of central asia. this is the afghan affiliate of the islamic state. it has not attracted the kind of international attention that so-called main isis in syria and iraq has captured. the trump administration did drop a massive ordinance bomb, a bomb that is basically just one level below a nuclear weapon, on this group's facilities in afghanistan a couple of years ago. there were questions at the time to what extent the use of that bomb was actually a legitimate battlefield tactic and to what extent the trump administration was just trying to make a show. but isis-k has been around for a number of years. we are used to referring to the taliban as an extremist group. they are. these isis members are far more extreme than the taliban. and, as you say, they are looking to make a splash. they are looking not only to harm americans on the way out of the country, but they are also looking to embarrass this new taliban regime, who they see, if you can believe it, as sort of collaborators with the united state

the case stands for khorasan.it is a region, not just the borders of afghanistan but a region they want to build a caliphate into and isis k and the delavan compete for fighters. isis k being able to pay a lot more for the better fighters. isis k is more sophisticated, they have better technology. isis k poses more of a direct threat to the homeland of the united states than attala man. >> why are they able to pay more, why do they have better weapons, would they have inherited any of the weapons we left behind from the afghan national army so talk about this dynamic. >> that is it, they have sophisticated surveillance technology. isis k hate america, hate americans, want to destroy america. not to diminish them but dealing with a different caliber, end goals of taking over the government of afghanistan. if sean already said we've gone back in time to september 10th, 2001, before the deadly attack when the taliban gave safe harbor to al qaeda and other terrorist groups, usama bin laden to plot and plan their attac

the k stands for khorasan.n area around the afghan- afghan-pakistan border and into parts of iran, as well, and other parts of south asia. their goal is to create an islamic caliphate across afghanistan and beyond into some of those countries. along with being a rival and enemy of the taliban, they seek to target western organizations, civilians, and anyone who doesn't meet their severe interpretation of islam. they have already have an extensive record of murderous atrocities. for more, cnn's jomana karadsheh joins me now from istanbul. she's extensively covered the rise and fall of isis in iraq and elsewhere. so, jomana, good to see you. isis-k, an off-chute of isis proper, what more can you tell us about the group? the aims? the capabilities? >> well, michael, as you mention there, theis is a group that emerged in afghanistan back in 2014-'15 as an affiliate of what was the islamic or the so-called islamic state in iraq and syria. isis now. they're -- they have been considered a major threat by u.s. official

khorasan, the k stands for that. i think you will see another attack. i think our goal right now all we can hope for, the best, jake, is to get every american we can out of afghanistan by august 31st. the airport is not even -- the gates are closed right now. and the only way we can get americans out is mckenzie -- general mckenzie told me they're running joint special operation command units to -- to get these americans and get 'em into the airport. mostly by helicopter and by air. with respect to the interpreters, and you know i have talked a long i'm about. i believe their fate is now -- their fate is -- is doomed. in fact, they were not let in the taliban checkpoints and perimeters for a while. >> uh-huh. >> they have been mistreated. and i -- i think their fate now is certain. and that is -- um -- that is -- they say no one left behind. well, we left them behind. >> one of the problems, as you know, when it comes to getting these planes full of afghans out of kabul and other parts of afghanistan is not a lot of countries want to take them in. i mea

you know, basically, we know that isis khorasan wants to inflict maximum damage on u.s. troops and personnel and american nationals and allies before we leave. so i think it is appropriate that we listen to the ground commanders as to what they believe needs to be done to keep our troops and our personnel safe, as well as any americans or afghan allies that we intend to evacuate. wolf, we've now evacuated more than 111,000 people in two weeks, which is a remarkable accomplishment for our brave troops and personnel on the ground. my office is trying to get another 200 people out as we speak, and i'm trying to get as much information to make sure they can safely get to the airport and get out, especially those 10 to 30 who completed their applications, have been invited to come to the airport, and were turned away recently. we're hopeful the state department can still get these people out asap. >> it's not going to be easy. these people have been told to stay away from the gates. it is too dangerous with the terror threat out there. on thursday, congressman, you wrote in a

. >> who isis-k can, it's the islamic state khorasan, they target those that don't believe in religion. it's based east on the pakistani border. isis-k, has 1500-2200 fighters recorded just three years ago. >>> he has gone from worried to out right panicked and angry. >> here is nbc bay area robert honda from little kabul. >> while there's fear and concern here in little kabul in fremont and a lot of determination among community members after the devastating airport attack. this was a sight of a big fundraiser last week and people we talk to say, that effort won't stop. >> it's hard for those at the restaurant to conduct business as usual. the popular restaurant in fremont's little kabul hosted an afghanistan fundraiser and the manager and many employees are trying to help family member there is and spread awareness here. >> everyone is constantly calling, you know, my family and trying to reach to everyone else, making sure everyone is okay to see how everyone is doing and everyone is worried. everyone is scared. everyone wants safety. they want to be able to be safe. and have their

as you mention, isis khorasan is an enemy of the taliban. in fact, some of them were members of the taliban. we might even see ranks of the taliban going over into isis-k. and there is a vacuum that's been left behind. 20 years, there has been a lot of failures and a lot of blame to go around. but there has, also, been a lot of success. a lot of afghans who relied on the u.s. and nato mission there, on their partners there. and that vacuum is going to be filled by we don't really know what. we assume it's the taliban. we assume that the taliban, they're showing on a good front but they're divided in their own ranks. they are terrified right now of not being able to form a proper government. not being able to provide for the people. and really, the infighting that's going to take place. you know, afghanistan has been known for its past for its warlords and the different factions and fighting, as you mentioned. um -- and we are seeing a new group of so-called warlords or power brokers that are going to try to fill that vacuum and try to take t

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believes isis-k, isis in the khorasan are responsible for the attacks. we have yet to get the full information from the u.s. intelligence community, but that is where the white house's head is now. we know the president is still actively monitoring the threat in kabul. even as this attack took place yesterday, this morning, officials telling me the threat is out there. it is still heightened. that is why the president right now is in the situation room with his national security team getting updated on that threat and he will continue to be updated on it throughout the day. but the message from the president in terms of how the u.s. will respond to the terrorists who carried out the attack yesterday was unmistakably clear. listen. >> for those who carried out this attack as well as anyone who wishes america harm, know this. we will not forgive. we will not forget. we will hunt you down and make you pay. >> reporter: and so that is one of the focuses of the u.s. military at the moment, is nailing down that intelligence and also beginning to make those pla

, particularly there was a threat, a specific intelligence stream that warned about isis-k, isis khorasan, that they were trying to carry out attacks at the airport. everything is pointing that direction at this point, chuck. >> courtney, if the president made the decision he needed more reinforcements to finish the evacuation, how quickly. the pentagon was staging folks in kuwait before preparing for the extra troops they ended up having to call up before. is that one of the contingency plans? >> when they announced deployment of additional troops, the pentagon announced they would be sending three battalions or one brigade combat team. 82nd airborne, immediate reaction force, a group supposed to be ready to go on hours-long notice to go pretty much anywhere in the world they need them. they sent those three battalions forward, all three were rerouted from kuwait to kabul. that gives you a sense this was more than a week ago, all went straight to kabul. if the u.s. wanted to shore up security at the airport, they could send additional troops in. the reality is they can get troops pretty

does not occur as american citizens are going to be left behind in afghanistan, groups like isis khorasan al qaeda and others are going to take those individuals hostage because they see america in a position of weakness when it comes to afghanistan. and then that is the worst situation you can have because you have americans held hostage overseas and that is a leverage point for the terrorist, our enemy and we will not be able to go and rescue them because this administration does not have a plan to do so and our intelligence capabilities on the ground have suffered drastically because president biden has not made afghanistan a national intelligence priority. >> it's kennedy, i have a question about isis-k and al qaeda, obviously you said that they hate each other, isis-k considers the taliban to be apostate because they negotiated with the united states. so we have been back channeling to the cia with the taliban and negotiating with them directly, jake sullivan said we should take them at their word for now, is this terror attack in these multiple explosions, is this a way isis-k to ta

the islamic state in khorasan are the official prints of the egg wanted —— islamic state.ey are, is—k, or isis k, they all refer to the same group. which is the official grant of isis and afghanistan.— official grant of isis and afghanistan. official grant of isis and afuhanistan. . , afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is - afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is to - afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is to be i afghanistan. what is their stated l aim? their stated aim is to be the rovince, aim? their stated aim is to be the province. the _ aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead - aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead for - aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead for the i province, the beachhead for the movement in afghanistan. they're kind of a pivot point for the broader g hud for central and s

afghanistan late on friday, killing two "high—profile" members of is—k, the islamic state group in khorasanages from the location where it is reported that the drone strike hit. the pictures, taken by an afghan media agency, ariana news afghanistan, appear show the aftermath of the us air strike in afghanistan's nangahar province that the us says resulted in the deaths of "two high profile" targets. the strike took place following the attack at kabul airport on thursday which is reported to have killed at least 170 people including 13 us troops. the taliban have condemned the us airstrike, describing it as a "clear attack on afghan territory." the pentagon has given more details about the drone strike. they have two high profile planners, orfacilitators, one planner and one facilitator, that are no longer on their muster roll, so they have lost some capability to plan and to conduct missions. but barbara, make no mistake, nobody is writing this off and saying, "well, we got them, so we do not have to worry about isis k any more." not the case. as i said earlier, the threat stream is still a

they call themselves isis khorasan province.ription for a vast area of eastern iran and afghanistan, and it's less than 1000, but they have carried out a number of attacks. they've been around since january 2015. they've attacked both afghan government security forces, the us and the taliban, even when the taliban were themselves insurgents. so, they're basically enemies of everybody, and they are looking for disruption and chaos. these threats are causing some countries to act. poland has announced it is halting all evacuations. the country's deputy foreign minister said in a statement that, "after a long analysis of reports on the security situation, we cannot "risk the lives of our diplomats and of our soldiers." bear in mind that by tuesday next week, all foreign forces should have left afghanistan. life will present a range of challenges. among them, drought and rising food prices and the different rules of life under the taliban. here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. tens of millions of - afghans have

this area is part of the historic region of khorasan and over the past five years they have claimed responsibilityularly deadly attacks across afghanistan, targeting politicians, religious minorities, and the taliban. the concern is that suddenly they have disappeared from view. completely inactive since the day before kabul fell and they tend to lay low for one of two reasons: either they are in "survival mode" or they are planning something. we can now speak to javed ali who's a former senior director for counter—terrorism at the us national security council. can you just explain to us, how did isis—k and fit into the bigger isis picture? did isis-k and fit into the bigger isis picture? isis-k has been an official _ bigger isis picture? isis-k has been an official branch - bigger isis picture? isis-k has been an official branch of- bigger isis picture? isis-k has been an official branch of isis| been an official branch of isis since 2015 even though isis has been degraded and lost their caliphate, isis—k has remained one of the most active and viable branches of that broader isis family said the

you'll appreciate that there are islamic state khorasan province terrorists out there, i can't go intosonnel, but also of the afghan people who are trying to get out. but what i would stress is that we're coming now towards at the end of this phase in any event, in the sense that we have already airlifted out of afghanistan a huge number of people, it's the biggest operation of its kind in decades. i think everybody involved, the uk military, everybody involved at the airport, everybody who has been helping us, they should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved. there's a suggestion that people who can't get to the airport should head to borders, but if the taliban haven't agreed to that, that could be hugely dangerous. i want to just go back to what i was saying about phase one and phase two beyond august 31. just to stress that we think that we've got the overwhelming majority of those eligible under the eligible persons scheme or under the arap scheme, the afghan repatriation and assistance programme, both those schemes, we think we have done the lion's share. there will be

president biden had this for isis khorasan, the terror group responsible. not terror group responsible. - will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay. the forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.— forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay. the flag on the white _ and make you pay. the flag on the white house _ and make you pay. the flag on the white house has _ and make you pay. the flag on the white house has been - the white house has been lowered as a mark of respect but the loss of so many american lives heaps pressure on a president already being widely criticised for what is happening in kabul. president biden was defiant, saying evacuations were to continue. america will not be intimidated. i have the utmost confidence in our brave servicemembers continue to execute this mission with courage and honour to save lives and get our afghan allies out of afghanistan. fiend lives and get our afghan allies out of afghanistan. and flights have continued _ out of afghanistan. and flights have continued but _ out of a

the word khorasan means apparently they come from the east.t islamist caliphate in afghanistan, an entity, an islamic state mark to, and we have seen what the islamic state mark one did for our security here in the west and it seems to me we cannot possibly allow afghanistan to become an islamic state mark 2, and if it is the case that these people are fighting the taliban it means that a civil war in afghanistan, once everybody has left, is also on the cards. again, none of us can have any interest in that, so send the troops back. if we don't send the troops back i think many people will say, what is actually the point of us having armed forces and a spanking new aircraft carrier pivoting somewhere towards the asia—pacific when this is breaking out? we may as well pack up is breaking out? we may as well pack up and go home, that is not what we should be doing, we should be asserting our right to get the taliban to sit by its agreement and use force if necessary, definitely. thanks very much for your time. i am rushing you at the end because

whereas isis, in particular, the islamic state in khorasan which is based in afghanistan, has been criticalliban and they have had many clashes in the last few years. they say the taliban have sold out to the u.s., and instead of taking victory in afghanistan, it was simply handed the keys to the country by the united states. so i think we're going to see more attacks from the islamic state as it takes some inspiration, i guess, from the reaction that we have seen around the globe to the taliban's victory in afghanistan. rishaad: we had a guest on earlier, christine fair, who suggested that this relationship between isis-k and the taliban may on the face of it look like they are at loggerheads but she says that actually, they could be cooperating, given the fact that there was not a single taliban person or soldier, if during these attacks, when the whole airport was overrun by them. ruth: sure. that is entirely possible that they could choose to cooperate behind the scenes in some instances and then fight in other instances. what we know is that this may lead to the rest of the world viewi

>> i think the isis-k for khorasan province which is along the afghan/pakistan border, the isis-k is a wildcard for the white house and the taliban. just as the taliban are trying to assemble a government to transition from insurgency to government, they face a threat from isis, which is a sworn enemy of the taliban. so you have in the close proximity of the airport where u.s. troops, british troops, western troops are face to face with the taliban, you have this wildcard third actor of the isis-k movement which could see as a lucrative target the masses of people assembled around the airport and has an opportunity to strike not only the u.s. but the taliban as well. >> i was just thinking about kind of your deep history in planning for the drawdown of u.s. troops in years past. when you were involved in the drawdown planning years ago, did you imagine that it could have gone down like this? >> i left before such planning took place. we were still planning on the military front and on the diplomatic front, the political front when i was involved in afghanistan. but i will say that i

in kabul is likely until recently the general public hadn't heard of this offshoot known as isis khorasang me now is the writer of the book "the way of strangers encounters with the islamic state." graham, back become. where did the isis group from him? >> the isis group in afghanistan has been around 2015, 2015. the taliban, of course, has been around since the 1990s. >> what does isis-k want? >> so, they are a full-fledged isis affiliate. they think that they are working as the standard-bearers for muslims around the world, they think that the abu baghdadi is the lead. they want to unseat the taliban in the end. they want to raise the isis flag over afghanistan because they think their version of jihadism is the right one and the taliban's is the wrong one. so they're fighting the united states and taliban and the rest of the world. >> in simple terms is it isis-k thinks the taliban is who soft? >> yeah, in a way. isis has been persnickety about ideological questions. they've got a weird view of what it requires. they had a kumbaya attitude of can't all jihadists get along. so they thin

now you have a threat from isis khorasan that this is again an arena that will become the hotbed of jihadism. we fall good at the end of the isis caliphate a few years ago and now we have an alternative that may attract yet again tens of thousands of jihadis from around the world. >> and the u.n. has traincked that. general clark, how about outside of the region. we know russia and china both have territorial expansion ambitions, russia in eastern europe and china in a place like taiwan. do they judge the u.s. now as a less credible adversary and less likely to defend allies. >> they would like to portray the u.s. that way. and they attempted to do that when this taliban takeover first occurred. but i think in retrospect they can't make that call. president biden was very firm, his statements have been very powerful, he's been very effective in terms of setting a deadline and following through on that deadline. and he's been backed up by very credible capable military force. we got in quickly. we established what needed to be done. we brought a lot of people out and strike at a couple of isi

that was isis khorasan. they particularly pick on these groups where they can try to sow sectarian discontent. they're all about creating friction, and that's exactly what this attack was about, trying to create friction between the taliban and the americans at this very, very dangerous time during the withdrawal. >> well, sam, oren, kaitlan, thank you very much. more with our reporters, our correspondents on the ground there live in the coming hours here on cnn as we have been watching them do their work all day. we'll continue on. >>> u.s. officials warning of more imminent threats from isis-k in afghanistan. so can u.s. intelligence stop them from attacking again? mission control, we are go for launch. ♪ t-minus two minutes and counting. ♪ um, she's eating the rocket. -copy that, she's eating the rocket. i assume we needed that? [chomping sound] ♪ lunchables! built to be eaten. she has eaten the rocket. [girl burps] over. ♪ ♪ it's a wishlist on wheels. a choice that requires no explanation. it's where saf

the fact of how vulnerable our forces were, not only against isis khorasan, as we saw in the attack onwhich we had to work with the taliban meters apart from one another. we did not have an option. if it came down to an urban conflict, urban combat scenario, you are talking about grave civilian harm, multiple casualty count and the fact that we would not be able to get our afghan allies and americans trapped in afghanistan, we wouldn't even be able to get them into the airplane. we are not in a good scenario, bad scenario. this is the least worst of the options before us. but we should have never been in this position in the first place. >> congressman moulton, you both have been involved in trying to get american citizens, green card holders and special immigrant veisa applicants out. i know a lot of people who have been trying to do this. is the process go ing as smoothy as the white house describes? >> no, jake. look, one of the things we learned on the ground there is that one of the big gest burden on the troops are all these haphazard requests coming in from members of congress a

attacks or a number of different complex attacks being planned by the so-called islamic state in the khorasanordination with the taliban, really, is the absolutely key relationship. there are still evacuees getting out. they're not getting out through the official gates. the gates have been officially closed. they're getting out through covert means and by special arrangement, if you like. but evacuations are continuing a pace to 1,600 in the last 24 hour reporting period. that number going down still further today because the u.s. military are withdrawing their people. they're withdrawing under pressure, but they're not withdrawing in any speedier rate than they would have done otherwise, jim. >> all right, sam kiley, thanks for staying on top of that. joining me now is an afghan american and former counterterrorism adviser to the u.s. and afghanistan helping families navigate the chaos at the kabul airport through his connections in the military. some of the people you were trying to help, ahmad, were there at the airport when the suicide blast happened. you were just talking about this a f

isis-k, this is the islamic state khorasan province and they became about in 2015. they're there.hese members of isis were disaffected taliban members. so it's kind of this civil war, so to speak, happening. so was isis targeting the taliban, were they targeting the united states, or both? what do you think? >> hi, tiffany. thanks for having me. so there are internal decisions within the taliban itself and also between these different groups. as you said, there's the taliban, al qaeda, and then isis-k. and if we want to understand what the isis affiliate was trying to accomplish, they're trying to undermine the taliban. that's one of their goals. they see an opportunity to move into this vacuum of leadership and establish themselves and to be a force on the ground. and by launching the attack that killed 13 service members the other day, they're able to basically show that the taliban doesn't have full control and to also kind of make a bid that they are the more extreme option. so for people who are dissolutioned with the taliban's moderation, that's how the taliban is trying to

ahead, as you laid out the landscape in afghanistan, what this means for isis-k, i remember when the khorasanust gaining stream in isis, 2016 or something like that, and there was a big concern about these lone wolf attacks. there would be isis sympathizers in the u.s. that would launch attacks. how big of a concern is that now with the u.s. withdrawing? >> well, the isis-k group has mostly been focused locally domestically. they're an offshoot of some militant groups in pakistan that don't think the pakistani government is theocratic enough, extremist enough. so perhaps they threaten the west in the future but right now they're going to be one more distraction for a taliban government that is trying to for the first time govern the entire country in a modern era, in a modern way, with a population that expects them to have electricity on and the water running and the phone system working. otherwise the taliban is going to face an insurgency from its own people just because people expect them to be better than the last group or hope that they are. >> and how significant, general, was the stri

victory for the taliban is a victory for al-qaeda, a victory for isis khorasan and a victory for allt increases by orders of magnitude because we know, paul, these groups become much, much more dangerous when they control territory, populations and resources. paul: now, the president and others say that we can counter that potential for sanctuary in afghanistan for jihadists by over the horizon capabilities. how much, how good are we at that, and and without listening posts on the ground, without allies in kabul, can we do itfectively? >> yeah, over the horizon counterterrorism is a pipe dream, paul -- paul: wow. >> -- for the reasons you've mentioned, right in you can't really get visibility of the enemy just from technical means. you need human intelligence networks. your targets, right, those that you're pursuing are all attempting to avoid being classified as such. and so they employ traditional countermeasures of conceal isment and especially intermingling with urban populations in urban areas. when terrorists control cities, they become much, much more dangerous. and, of course

this isis faction, this khorasan faction as you probably know is syria based and of course, israel isd about iran, but they're very worried about syria and lebanon and hezbollah and so the threat is very real and there is a need to coordinate all of those things together and clearly, we have other countries on the border with afghanistan, the russians for example who are working with the iranians at cross-purposes to u.s. interests in syria and elsewhere. however, having said that, countries like russia, china, pakistan, to some extent, they have some interests overlapping interests with us. they don't want a huge refugee crisis so we can work on that together but on the issue of iran and these regional threats, we have to work more closely with our allies, the ones we agree with, israel and the europeans. >> how do you balance that full well knowing the asks of naftali bennett and the friendship the united states has with israel along with knowing the vulnerability that will exist and grow in afghanistan. >> i think that we have to be -- i'm not privy to the details of the conversati

military has retaliated, launched a strike against isis k, isis khorasan, in retaliation for the attack that killed so many u.s. service members and afghans at the airport yesterday. we are also watching what is a large hurricane bearing down on the gulf coast and new orleans specifically. hurricane ida is going to be a huge deal over the course of this weekend. you need to keep an eye on it. we hope that it turns and it doesn't end up on the track that it looks like it is ending up on tonight. and if you are in the path of hurricane ida, please, please pay attention to local evacuation warnings and forecasts. heed these warnings, it is a big storm. that's going to do it for us for now. now jonathan capehart -- >> good evening jonathan, it's a big night already. >> it is rachel, you've covered a lot of big news. but i have to say i couldn't get ready for tonight's show, listening to you breaking down how people couldn't trust the cdc but fully taking recommendations medications to take ivermectin. >> what is it, ivermectin? >> ivermectin. it does nothing for covid, it can prevent worms

however, isis khorasan, that offshoot group of the islamic state there in afghanistan, is the top concernt this point. what we're hearing about the evacuations is that now they are prioritizing u.s. citizens to get out of kabul airport there, they have pretty much sealed off the gates in light of this terrorist attack. it is very, very difficult. it was even before this attack to get in if you were not an american citizen or green card hunter, permanent resident. so now it will become even more difficult for afghans to get out especially ahead of that tuesday deadline before all of the u.s. troops withdraw here. and of course u.s. officials are very mindful of the fact that every day there is this persistent threat there of a terrorist attack. they have asked the taliban to extend the perimeter around the airport to make it harder for potential suicide bombers to get up to those checkpoints where they could get into close contact with the civilians, with the u.s. forces on the ground there trying to protect the airport. but obviously, you know, the taliban has not been able to thwart ever

isis-k is the isis khorasan. >> all the threats, and another plane taking off from kabul airport. anything you're hearing from folks at the white house that suggest there's any wiggle room on the august 31st deadline? >> to this point not at all. the president as you noted made it clear the u.s. is undeterred in its mission. he will stick to the august 31st timeline. they have effectively stayed the course, doubling down, not apologizing for it from the beginning. the president did make significant acknowledgments yesterday, acknowledging among other things it was unlikely the u.s. would be able to guarantee all the afghan allies would be out by the end of the month. clearly that didn't seem like it was going to be possible from the start, now saying that publicly here as well. to courtney's point, he acknowledged there are real dangers that exist for the united states. as relates to the relationship between the taliban and the united states, you remember in july the president said no, he doesn't trust the taliban. he was asked about that, said it is not an issue of trust, it is m

either them completely go away from the gates and cause a mad rush or something happen with isis khorasanttack on the people outside the airfield or attack on the airfield. that gives me the most concern the potential enemy activity. as always in any kind of combat consideration the enemy gets a vote and sometimes we don't calculate that into our eq equation. >> as the taliban says it has arrested four isis-k operatives who are doing reconnaissance, filming the airport clearly looking for vulnerabilities and possibilities for attack. >> yeah, because that would be an embarrassment to both the taliban and the united states. >> sure. >> that's what the taliban is concerned about. >> what is this -- you're talking about this is the unknown, what does the end of this look like. it sounds like, and you tell me, it sounds like the u.s. is very dependent on the taliban to secure the airport. so then would you just expect to see the u.s. military as it's deciding which equipment or if all the equipment gets out then pulling in the perimeter of u.s. forces and then just leaving and relying on the

claimed responsibility, isis-k or isis khorasan, the afghanistans affiliate of the islamic state for isis, that, too, was something that we have had repeated, explicit, and increasingly urgent warnings about from u.s. officials.t a warnings about that exact threat from that exact group that re claimed responsibility for what happened today. those warnings started more that a week ago.sp and they came from u.s. officials, up to and including the secretary of state and even the president, himself. >> we are, also, keeping a close watch on any potential terroriso threat at or around the airport, including from the isis affiliates in afghanistan who were released from prison when h the prisons were emptied. and because they are, by the way, make everybody understand that the -- the isis in afghanistan are -- have been the sworn enemy of the taliban. . >> there is complexity and there is turbulence on the ground in -- in kabul. and it's very risky and dangerous because there's a er genuine threat from isis-k. that is the reality of what we are up against, and i'm not gonna sugarcoat that

arrived to take over control of kabul and went to the prisons, they found isis k, islamic state in the khorasan leaders, and they shot and killed they will right away. those two are mortal enemies and there we are in the middle the taliban have been tasked and promised to provide our security the very best thing that could happen for isis k would be to kill some americans with the taliban being the ones who were supposed to provide the security and that's where we are. so i don't know how the taliban reacts in country. i'd like your thoughts on that and how the united states now reacts in the wake of what's just taken place >> well, the taliban might decide to try harder to find these kinds of bombs and truck, you know, explosives before they are, before they are employed. as you know, it's very hard to stop a truck like this at the final point of approach. you know, for all the great technology we have, we don't have ways of sensing the presence of explosives from many miles away and so we can't use spy satellites to figure out where these trucks are and unless we happen to have watched the tr

isis-k, khorasan isis, operating in afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. a few hours ago president biden spoke from the east room of the white house giving an emotionally-filled speech where he paid tribute to the american men and women who lost their lives while working tirelessly exposing themselves to evacuate thousands from the country. >> these american service members who gave their lives, that's an overused word, but it's appropriate here, were heroes. heroes who had been engaged in a dangerous selfless mission to save the lives of others. they are a part of an airlift and evacuation effort unlike any seen in history. they were a part of the most capable, most selfless military in the face of the earth. and they are a part of simply what i call the backbone of america. they are the spine of america. the best the country has to offer. we have some sense, like many of you do, what the families of these brave heroes are feeling today. you get this feeling like you are being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest. there is no way out. my h

i isis khorasan said they were within five meters or five yards of the u.s. servicemen.bviously it's impossible to confirm that. and i would also say even though isis has claimed responsibility for this attack, we don't yet have concrete evidence as to who was responsible, where the attack was planned, which part of the group may have been behind it. we have also spoken to someone who has been to the airport today. they were able to share some video footage with us, which shows how the taliban has sort of changed its operations slightly today to try to prevent a repeat occurrence because as you mentioned the threat is still looming large of another attack. what they have basically done is to push those check points back quite a bit, trying to push the crowds further away, create some depth or space between that first line from the taliban and between u.s. servicemen. as you said, u.s. evacuations are still continuing, but the threat is still very real. a lot of concern. isis has had more than a week to plan for this. this is a soft target, as you mentioned brianna. and a

an affiliate of the islamic state, the so-called isis-k claimed responsibility.“ k” stands for “khorasanhistoric name for a region including afghanistan and parts of iran. thbiden administration said they've been sounding the alarm about the risks involved for days. at the pentagon, the commanding general for u.s. operations in the region spoke by remote from his headquarters in tampa. marine general kenneth mckenzie was asked whether he trusted the taliban to help secure the airport, an insurgency that the u.s. was bombing less than two weeks prior >> you've heard me say before it's not what they say, it's what they do. they have a practical reason for wanting us to get out of here by the 31st of august. and that's they want to reclaim the airfield. we want to get out by that date too if it's gonna be possible to do so. so we share a common purpose. as long as we've kept that common purpose aligned, they've been useful to work th. >> reporter: the taliban condemned the attack and said the u.s. was responsible for the security where it occurred. >> it is again, it is because of foreign f

military has retaliated, launched a strike against isis k, isis khorasan, in retaliation for the attack the airport yesterday. we are also watching what is a large hurricane bearing down on the gulf coast and new orleans specifically. hurricane ida is going to be a huge deal over the course of this weekend. you need to keep an eye on it. we hope that it turns and it doesn't end up on the track that it looks like it is ending up on tonight. and if you are in the path of hurricane ida,

isis-k is an offshoot of isis and the k stands for khorasan, a region that stands for parts of what is today afghanistan, pakistan, generally speaking central asia on june the 25th, the state department described isis-k like this, one of the more lethal and active isis branches that are in afghanistan. that's a direct quote. and in a telebriefing with reporters that same day, he went on to say the intention of the administration would remai focussed on making sure that isis-k is not able to conduct attacks and threaten populations in afghanistan two months to the day later almost, officials say the group struck with us now, catherine zimmerman, fellow at the american enterprise institute focussed on terror groups. catherine, clearly isis-k is capable. how did they come to be? the >> the islamic state isis-k is a splinter from the pakistan taliban, and it has been able to recruit from members of the taliban inside of afghanistan and some of the other smaller groups that cooperate with the taliban in order to expand and it's been able to draw those recruits because of it offers this more

this is going to be, if it stays on track and isis khorasan could screw this up at any minute, the secondmerican history. this is not dunkirk. this is a semipermissive noncombatant operation. we are taking out just about anybody who is there who can prove they are u.s. aligned or u.s. citizens. you know, we have to maintain something. there are 38 million afghans. we cannot take every one of them and there's going to have to be a tiered system to get them out. >> let's get into this a little bit more. right. you had boris johnson, you know, talking about the number one condition we're setting for the g7 as they have a guarantee safe passage. so everyone agrees people need to come out. there was this great video, this clip of these young girls, these afghan girls who were on like a computer, a tech team, right? they were all together. they all got on a plane, got on qatar and got out. it was heartwarming to see them go. it seems like the taliban are belatedly realizing their fourth century politics may not be working. they're saying, whoa, hold on, united states, they don't want us encoura