ISKP kills Chinese national a day after diplomatic anniversary

On the evening of 21 January 2025, a Chinese citizen was reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen in Takhar province. According to Tolo News, the incident was confirmed by Mohammad Akbar Haqqani, the provincial acting Taliban police chief the following day.

Haqqani stated that the man, named as “Li”, was travelling to an unknown destination accompanied by his translator, without the prior knowledge of police. The men were allegedly attacked in their vehicle in the Khaja Bahauddin district, although the translator was reportedly unharmed.

Habib Azizi, an Afghan freelance journalist, shared three [WARNING: GRAPHIC] photos on X (formerly Twitter) reportedly showing the aftermath of the attack. One of the images contained the alleged body of the deceased Chinese citizen inside the vehicle. According to Azizi, Li was driving a Toyota Hilux vehicle with his translator, traveling from Taloqan city to an area named Bay Dingg Arabs located 1.5 kilometres (km) from the Tajikistan border, when they were ambushed.

Sources quoting the translator stated that the armed men demanded money and, upon receiving it, shot Li. The translator, reportedly an Afghan citizen, claimed to have escaped. However, eyewitnesses at the scene alleged that fleeing from the scene would not have been possible, raising suspicions about his alleged involvement in the attack. According to The Independent Persian, the translator was arrested by the Taliban and is under investigation.

ISKP claim targeted killing

The attack was claimed by ISKP on 22 January 2025, with a statement that read:

“By the grace of Allah Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a vehicle carrying a Chinese communist, in the village of [Katkajer] in the region of [Takhar] yesterday, with machine guns, which led to his death and damage to his vehicle, praise be to Allah”.

This was the second ISKP-claimed attack against Chinese citizens since the start of current Taliban control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Previously, in December 2022, the group claimed an attack at the Kabul Longan Hotel in the capital, which resulted in over 20 casualties.

In November 2024, a group of Chinese nationals were targeted in an attack in Tajikistan. According to various news agencies, armed individuals travelled across the border from Afghanistan to attack the gold mine workers in the Shamsiddin Shohin district, killing one and injuring four. The attack was not claimed by any group.

Celebration of the 70th anniversary of China and Afghanistan relations

On 20 January 2025, the day prior to the attack that killed the Chinese national, Afghanistan and China celebrated their 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. The date was commemorated with an event at the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MoFA) Storai Palace in Kabul. According to Hafiz Zia Ahmad, MoFA’s Deputy Spokesperson, the event was attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Al-Haj Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Chinese Ambassador, Zhao Xing, diplomats, directors of the MoFA, as well as Afghan and Chinese businessmen, and university professors and students.

Both Chinese state media and the Taliban MoFA website published news articles on the event celebrating the date. The event was also promoted by Taliban state media and officials, the MoFA, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) embassy in Beijing, with content published in Pashto, Farsi, Mandarin and English. On 20 January 2025, the MoFA account also published a quote by Stanikzai claiming that China is one of Afghanistan’s key partners. The quote was published as translated in English.

Xing shared photos of the event on his X (formerly Twitter) account, with a statement:

“I hope the friendship between China and Afghanistan will remain as stable as the deep colour of lapis lazuli, the people of the two countries remain united like pomegranate seeds and the future of our countries will be as colorful as the saffron blossoms”.

The specific mention of lapis lazuli, pomegranate, and saffron may reference China’s main economic interests in the country. Between 2022 and 2024, Chinese state media published various articles highlighting how Afghanistan is exporting the three products to China.

ISKP anti-China propaganda

AW has noted that China often features in ISKP propaganda, both in Farsi and Tajik languages, where it is portrayed as an anti-Islamic and infidel power. ISKP exploits Taliban-China economic and diplomatic relations to undermine the legitimacy of the IEA, because of the negative image of China among local Muslim populations. The Chinese Communist Party is widely criticised for its treatment of the Uyghur minority, including due to widely circulated reports of re-education camps and organ farming.

In addition to encouraging the targeting of Chinese nationals in attacks, ISKP also celebrates past attacks on Chinese nationals and assets in Afghanistan.

Infographics and booklets commemorating the “ISKP martyrs” who have carried out attacks against Chinese targets are regularly posted and reshared on various ISKP Telegram channels. Figure 2 shows an infographic commemorating the “martyrdom” of the ISKP assailants behind the attack on Chinese diplomats and business people in Kabul in December 2022. The infographic was reposted by Al-Azaim Tajik-language Telegram channel in December 2024 and January 2025.

Between the end of 2024 and early 2025, the ISKP published a booklet titled, ”About the Blessed Operation in Kabul”, stating:

The Islamic State attacked a large hotel in Kabul, where diplomats and bloodthirsty oppressors of Uyghur Muslims were staying, leaving more than 30 dead and wounded among the infidel Chinese and their apostate protectors, the polytheist Taliban.

ISKP propaganda content also utilises alleged security cooperation between the Taliban and China to criticise both in their association. For example, in the infographic titled “In the War Against Terrorism (Islam), the Allies of the Infidels” (Figure 3), ISKP accuses the Chinese government of being “murderers of thousands of Uyghur Muslims and the Chinese occupiers of East Turkestan”. The infographic claims that “the Taliban militias are their partners in defeating terrorism and are their dear friends and allies”, condemning the Taliban for its association with China.

ISKP also uses alleged links between the Taliban and China to discredit the Islamic nature of the Emirate, by presenting cooperation with non-Muslim states, or states who commit acts of violence against Muslim communities, as a crime against all Muslims. In multiple videos and documentaries, produced in Farsi and reposted by Al-Azaim Tojiki in December 2024 and January 2025, footage of negotiations between the Taliban leaders and Russian, American, Pakistani, and Chinese diplomats has been used to denounce Taliban officials as murtad (apostate), munofiq (hypocrite), and khawarij (seceders) (Figure 4).