Senior ISKP leader confirms Al-Azaim media as official outlet

Senior leader of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Sheikh Abu Fatih, formally confirmed in an exclusive podcast interview that Al-Azaim Media functions as ISKP’s official media outlet. This represents the first explicit and public acknowledgment designating Al-Azaim Media—which emerged in 2021 as a central media platform for ISKP—as the group’s official media organ.

Abu Fatih’s confirmation appeared during Mubarizeen Media’s weekly podcast Question of the Week. In this episode, he discussed two primary issues: the recent earthquake in Afghanistan’s Kunar province and the suicide attack targeting the head of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Sardar Akhtar Mengal, in Balochistan. The 40-minute Pashto-language podcast, entitled “Why do earthquakes happen and the martyrdom attack on the Baloch Democratic Party”, was released on 13 September 2025 through Al-Azaim Media’s official channels on Telegram and Element.

Quetta suicide attack on BNP as retaliation for Mastung Camp assault

Regarding the 2 September 2025 suicide attack on Sardar Akhtar Mengal in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan province, Abu Fatih framed the incident as retaliation for the deaths of ISKP members in the March 2025 Mastung attack perpetrated by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). He asserted that this operation represented a continuation of ISKP’s declared war against Baloch nationalists, a declaration initially issued via Al-Azaim Media on 25 May 2025. According to Abu Fatih, while the Mastung incident was carried out by armed Baloch separatists, he accused the BNP of being deliberately targeted on the grounds that it allegedly functions as their “political wing.” This claim, however, has neither been acknowledged by the BNP nor the BLA, nor does it reflect wider public perception.

Sardar Akhtar Mengal recognized as a significant Baloch political figure, was attacked along with hundreds of his party members while exiting Shahwani Stadium on Sariab Road in Quetta, following a commemorative gathering marking the death anniversary of his father, the BNP founder. Although Mengal and other senior leaders survived, the assault resulted in the deaths of 15 BNP workers and injuries to 30 others. ISKP’s Amaq Media claimed responsibility for the attack on the same day.

It is pertinent to note that Al-Azaim Media had previously released a 35-minute Pashto video on 25 May 2025, supplemented by multilingual statements (in Pashto, Urdu, Persian, and Balochi), in response to the BLA attack on an ISKP camp in Mastung. In this release, ISKP not only announced a state of war against the BLA and armed separatists but also threatened to target any Baloch individuals or political organizations perceived to be supportive of separatist groups.

The Kunar Earthquake

A substantial portion of Abu Fatih’s podcast addressed the destruction caused by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. He attributed the disaster to what he described as the betrayal of ISKP by the local population, in addition to the Taliban government’s ongoing operations against ISKP. Of particular significance is the fact that the districts most severely affected—Chawkay and Narang, including adjacent mountainous valleys—had previously constituted long-standing strongholds of ISKP, until the group’s expulsion following its defeat in February 2020.