WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that Islamic State in Afghanistan could have the capability of attacking the United States in as little as six months, and has the intention to do so, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Tuesday.
Colin Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, also said it was still “to be determined” whether the Taliban — which is an enemy of Islamic State — has the ability to fight Islamic State effectively following the U.S. withdrawal in August.
“The intelligence community currently assesses that both ISIS-K and al Qaeda have the intent to conduct external operations, including against the United States, but neither currently has the capability to do so. We could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months,” he added, saying it could take al Qaeda “a year or two.”
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali)
