In May, an explosion at a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan was followed by an intense firefight in which 21 people were killed. It was just one in a series of violent incidents in which militants operating out of Afghanistan, with support from Al-Qaeda, have launched attacks on targets in neighboring Pakistan.A quarter-century ago, the United States drove Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan and into neighboring Pakistan. Dispersed and severely weakened, the terror network regrouped in Pakistan's tribal areas, helped and sheltered by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group founded in 2007 and largely made up of young tribesmen influenced by the Afghan Taliban.Now, with the Afghan Taliban back in power in Kabul, the nexus of the TTP and Al-Qaeda is stronger than ever. Al-Qaeda has helped shape the TTP's strategy, propaganda operations, and training capabilities, enabling the TTP to step up attacks against the Pakistani authorities.Old Links, New AgendasFor the first time, in April, Al-Qaeda's media wing, the Al-Sahab Media Foundation, explicitly laid out the terror group's support for TTP operations against Pakistan."While Al-Qaeda provided ideological guidance, training, and support to the TTP in the latter's insurgency against Pakistan, this public statement was more direct," noted the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in an August report.
How A Resurgent Al-Qaeda Is Helping Militant Attacks In Pakistan
A quarter-century ago, the United States drove Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan and into neighboring Pakistan. Now the group is back in its Afghan safe haven, supporting other militant groups staging cross-border attacks.
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