Terrorist groups - home based:
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K): aim(s): overthrow the Afghanistan Government and, ultimately, establish an Islamic caliphate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region area(s) of operation: ISIL-K's last three leaders were killed within 12 months: ABU SAYED in Kunar Province on 11 July 2017, Abdul HASIB Logari in Nangarhar Province on 27 April 2017, and Hafiz Saeed KHAN Orakzai on 26 July 2016 in the Achin District of eastern Nangarhar Province; headquartered in Kunar Province near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; operatives have launched attacks against Shia Muslims, Taliban members, and Afghan National Security and Defense Forces primarily in neighboring Nangarhar Province and Kabul since the summer of 2015; recruits, trains, and equips fighters mainly in Nangarhar Province, who are deployed to fight throughout the country; responsible for the deadliest attack in Kabul in over 10 years, when a suicide bomber targeted a Shia Muslim ethnic Hazara demonstration on 23 July 2016 in Kabul, killing more than 80 demonstrators and injuring 260; assessed in mid-2017 to have 1,000 fighters, with most of them operating in Afghanistan; recruits heavily in prisons; operates a radio station; core ISIL refers to Afghanistan and Pakistan as its Wilayat al-Khorasan
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ): aim(s): enhance its networks and paramilitary training in Afghanistan area(s) of operation: headquartered in the east; operates paramilitary training camps near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border across from the central area of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region; Pakistani recruits travel to Afghanistan from Pakistan's central FATA borders to attend LJ's paramilitary training; beyond staging attacks to conduct inside Pakistan, operatives conduct limited operations inside Afghanistan
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): aim(s): drive foreign troops from Afghanistan; remove Pakistani forces from Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and, ultimately, overthrow the Pakistan Government to install TTP's strict interpretation of Sharia throughout the country area(s) of operation: headquartered in several eastern Afghanistan provinces near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; operates primarily along the northeastern Afghanistan-Pakistan border, especially in Kunar Province where TTP has established sanctuaries; seeks regions out of the country's government's control; trains and deploys fighters in the tribal belt in the Pashtun areas; commanders based in Afghanistan continue to orchestrate attacks inside Pakistan; launches attacks inside Afghanistan against foreign troops and US personnel and interests; on 30 December 2009, a TTP suicide bomber described as a double agent for the US Government detonated explosives inside the US's Camp Chapman in eastern Khost Province, killing seven US Government personnel and injuring six other people

Terrorist groups - foreign based:
al-Qa'ida: aim(s): overthrow the Afghanistan Government and, ultimately, establish a pan-Islamic caliphate under a strict Salafi Muslim interpretation of Sharia area(s) of operation: maintains established networks and a longtime operational presence, especially in the northwest and in the northneast near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; headquartered in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan between 1996 and November 2001, when US-led Coalition Forces toppled the Taliban Government
al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS): aim(s): establish an Islamic caliphate in the Indian subcontinent area(s) of operation: heaviest presence is in Afghanistan, especially in the eastern and southern regions, where most of the Afghan-based leaders are based and recruits train for fighting; targets primarily Afghan Military personnel and US interest
Haqqani Network (HQN): aim(s): eradicate Western influence and replace the Afghan Government with a strict Salafi Muslim interpretation of Sharia area(s) of operation: stages attacks from Pakistan's North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas across from Afghanistan's southeastern border; operational throughout the country, especially in Kabul and the provinces of Paktiya and Khost, targeting Afghan, US, and NATO forces and other Afghan Government personnel and Westerners for attack or kidnappings for ransom; deemed to be the most lethal group striking Afghan personnel and NATO's International Security Assistance Force; operatives used explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, and sprayed bullets on 13 September 2011 during a 19-hour attack on the US Embassy in Kabul and NATO's nearby International Security Assistance Force's headquarters, killing 16 Afghans, including six children and police officers; continues to hold Americans and other Westerners hostage for the stated purpose of demanding senior leader Anas HAQQANI's release from Afghan custody, where he has been sentenced to death
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI): aim(s): enhance its networks and drive foreign troops from Afghanistan and, unltimately, install Sharia in Afghanistan area(s) of operation: operations throughout Afghanistan, targeting primarily Afghan Government personnel and Coalition forces
Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM): aim(s): enhance its networks and paramilitary training in Afghanistan and, ultimately,annex Kashmir into Pakistan and establish an Islamic state in Kashmir area(s) of operation: maintains paramilitary training camps in the east
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU): aim(s): drive NATO forces out of Afghanistan and destablize the country area(s) of operation: conducts attacks in collaboration with other armed groups, including the Taliban, against NATO and Afghan forces across the country, especially in the northern and eastern provinces of Paktika, Paktia, and Nangarhar; played a key role in the Taliban's recapture of Kunduz Province in September 2015; uploads propaganda videos showcasing attacks on Afghan forces
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU): aim(s): enhance its networks and secure its territory in Afghanistan to meet its historic goal of establishing an Islamic state in the Fergana Valley, a fertile valley spread across eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, and northern Tajikistan area(s) of operation: operates mostly in the north along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with its heaviest presence in Badakhshan Province, where IMU operates paramilitary training camps and bases; has historically fought alongside al-Qa'ida and the Taliban and their affiliate groups; IMU's attack tempo has diminished since 2015
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM): aim(s): enhance operational and logistic networks in Afghanistan and, ultimately, drive foreign forces from the country area(s) of operation: maintains a limited training and operational presence, primarily along the border with Pakistan
Jundallah: aim(s): enhance its operational networks and capabilities for staging cross-border attacks into Pakistan and Iran area(s) of operation: operational in the greater Balochistan area, where fighters stage attacks targeting Shia Muslims in Iran and Pakistan
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT): aim(s): enhances its recruitment networks and paramilitary training in Afghanistan area(s) of operation: targets Coalition forces and Western interests throughout the country; maintains several facilities such as paramilitary training camps, medical clinics serving locals, and schools for thousands of youth; targets Pushtun youth for recruitment; LeT changed its name to Kashmir Tehrik Azadi in early 2017