and so, the extent to which the taliban can actually provide security, especially when the u.s. has such limited forces now around the airport, is really an open question. appreciate the reporting, natasha bertrand, in washington there. appreciate that. i want to bring in lisa curtis now. she is a former-cia analyst who was a senior national security council official during the trump administration. she s now director of the indo-pacific security program at the center for a new american security. it s good to see you, again. around for a few years now. t do you kunar province. but the u.s. and afghan forces were able to beat beat back
that base in 2018. however, isis-k maintained capabilities to attack in kabul. and we ve seen several major attacks by isis-k, primarily against the hazara shia community. this is a minority community in afghanistan. but yes, they unfortunately remain very capable of conducting these um major suicide bombings in kabul. yeah. they ve done some horrendous attacks over the years. i m curious your thought on, you know, what what are terror groups, the taliban, al qaeda, isis, but others too, what are they making of all of this? not just thursday s explosion but how the u.s. is leaving afghanistan? one analyst told me jihadists around the world are over the moon with what s happened and how. yes. i think that that s true. terrorists of all stripes are celebrating the u.s. leaving
attack. the terror group isis-k claiming responsibility. so, who are they? they claim to be a branch of isis. the k stands for khorasan. an 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
activities of dozens of nonprofits and veteran operations that were out there chartering flights and flying people out to romania, i would have thought you were talking about a fiction novel. it s just it s really been incredible. you are doing amazing work. those you re working with are doing amazing work. i know quit is not in your vocabulary, and you ll keep fighting. always a pleasure, my friend. thanks, michael. you can find out how you can help afghan refugees if you are a veteran troubled by events in afghanistan as well. you can go to cnn.com/impact for resources that can help. thanks for spending part of your day with me. i m michael holmes. our coverage of the terror attack at kabul international airport continues after the break.
dangerous, selfless mission to salve the lives of others. the president also said this. we have a continuing obligation, a sacred obligation to all of you, the families of those heroes. that obligation is not temporary. it lasts forever. the news continues here on cnn. we will not be deterred by terrorists. we will not let them stop our mission. we will continue the evacuation. joe biden addresses the nation after the terror attack that has now taken more than 100 lives in afghanistan. his message for the attackers. also, what is isis-k? and what is its end game? officials say another attack is imminent. our correspondents are standing by around the globe with the very latest. hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the united