- The US has offered up to $18m for information on two ISIS-K leaders
- The rewards target Shahab al-Muhajir and Obaidullah
- Washington says both men are involved in ISIS-K operations and financing
The United States government has announced rewards totalling up to $18 million for information that could help locate or identify two senior leaders of Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISIS-K.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that the offers were announced by the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice programme in separate notices published on Tuesday.
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The programme is offering as much as $8 million for information leading to the identification or location of Shahab al-Muhajir, also known as Sanaullah Ghafari, who is described as the leader of ISIS-K.
According to the US government, Ghafari was born in Afghanistan in 1994 and was appointed to lead the group in June 2020 by ISIS’s central leadership.
The Rewards for Justice programme described him as an experienced militant commander involved in planning and approving ISIS-K operations across Afghanistan. It also said he oversees the group’s financing and has played a role in arranging funds for its activities.
A separate reward of up to $10 million was announced for another senior ISIS-K figure identified as Obaidullah, who is also known by the names Salahuddin and Maulawi Rajab.
US authorities said Obaidullah is involved in planning terrorist operations, directing militant cells and managing finances through ISIS-K’s al-Siddiq Office.
The department described the al-Siddiq Office as an ISIS regional directorate responsible for coordinating the group’s activities in Asia and providing financial assistance to its affiliates and networks.
According to Rewards for Justice, Obaidullah is a close associate of Ghafari and has been linked to several plots targeting US, European and Middle Eastern interests.
The US programme also linked individuals associated with Obaidullah to the March 2024 attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Russia, in which 145 people were killed by gunfire and explosives, according to the US account.
ISIS-K, which is primarily based in Afghanistan, has carried out and claimed responsibility for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The group emerged in 2015 after former members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The US Department of State has attributed several major attacks to ISIS-K, including the July 2016 bombing of a peaceful demonstration in Kabul, which killed nearly 80 people and injured about 230 others.
The group also claimed responsibility for the May 2020 attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul that left 24 people dead, including mothers and newborn babies.
Another major attack attributed to ISIS-K was the August 2021 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the US-led evacuation from Afghanistan. The blast killed 13 US service members and about 160 civilians.
The United States designated ISIS-K as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in January 2016 and had previously designated it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in September 2015. Obaidullah was placed under the latter designation in November 2021.
The Rewards for Justice programme has urged anyone with credible information about the two ISIS-K leaders to submit it through its official reporting channels.
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