The Pentagon: ISIS in Afghanistan may attack America within 6 months

A senior Pentagon official told Congress on Tuesday that the US intelligence community estimates that the Islamic State group in Afghanistan may have the ability and intent to attack the United States within six months at the earliest.

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for political affairs, said it had not yet been "determined" whether the Taliban, who are hostile to the group, had the ability to fight the group effectively after the US withdrawal in August.

"The intelligence community currently assesses that both ISIS-Khorasan (in Afghanistan) and al-Qaeda have the intention to carry out foreign operations, including against the United States, but they do not currently have the ability to do so," he added.

"We can see the organization - Wilayat-Khorasan have this capacity in between six and 12 months," he said, noting that it may take al-Qaeda "a year or two."

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news