Pakistani intelligence delivers major blow to ISIS-K, spokesman arrested

ISLAMABAD: Intelligence authorities in Pakistan have carried out a significant operation against Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), resulting in the arrest of the group’s spokesman, Sultan Aziz Azam, ARY News reported.

Sultan Aziz Azam is the founder of the group’s official media wing, the Al Azaim Foundation, which is considered the central organization for ISKP’s recruitment and propaganda activities. Following his arrest, the organization’s media operations have been suspended.

The arrest, which took place on May 16, 2025, is part of a series of high-profile actions taken by Pakistani authorities in recent months against ISIS-K operatives. The development was highlighted in the 16th report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

According to the UN report, Pakistan’s operations have significantly weakened ISIS-K’s organizational structure at the global level. Several planned attacks have been foiled, the number of fighters reduced, and key commanders and ideological leaders neutralized.

The arrests of Sultan Aziz Azam and senior leader Abu Yasir al-Turki in May 2025 were cited as pivotal in diminishing the group’s operational capabilities.

The report further stated that major propaganda platforms such as Voice of Khorasan (VOK) have also been suspended following Pakistan’s actions. Before his arrest, Sultan Aziz Azam had also served as an adviser to the Nangarhar Provincial Council.

These developments mark a substantial setback for ISIS-K, undermining both its media influence and operational capabilities.

ISIS Group Leader Killed in US Strike in Iraq

In March 2025, U.S Central Command forces announced that they conducted an airstrike in Iraq, in coordination with Iraqi Intelligence, which resulted in the death of the Global ISIS #2 leader Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi, also known as “Abu Khadijah”.

Although Iraq had proclaimed in 2017 the defeat of the jihadist group on its territory, IS cells have remained active and carry out sporadic attacks against Iraq’s army and police.

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi “was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world”, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on social media platform X.

The jihadist, sanctioned by the United States in 2023, was IS’s so-called governor of the group’s Syrian and Iraqi provinces, according to the Iraqi premier.