On Wednesday March 2, the Interior Ministry of the Taliban Interim Ministry reported on the arrest of a national of Tajikistan in Kabul, who is suspected of arriving in Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban.  

A video posted by the Interior Ministry on a number of websites shows a young man saying that his name is Umed ad he is from Tajikistan.

“I left Tajikistan for Russia, from there I go to Turkey, from Turkey to Iran and from Iran to Afghanistan to wage jihad against the Taliban mojahideen,” the young man said.

Citing the Interior Ministry, the Kabul-based Ettelaat-e Rouz says the Tajik national was detained in Kabul’s 15th neighborhood unit and is suspected of having contacts with Daesh (the Arabic acronym for ISIS).  

The law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan have not yet commented on this issue.

At the moment, it is not yet known whether this young man is citizen of Tajikistan or an Afghan who grew up in Tajikistan.