In fact, in recent days I’ve spoken with several U.S. officials who think “at least hundreds” of al-Qaeda’s men were released during the Taliban’s jailbreaks this year. Some of these terrorists are al-Qaeda bigwigs. Others are lower-level fighters and midlevel operatives.

Most alarming: Multiple “external operatives”—that is, al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for plotting against the West—have been freed.

The al-Qaeda men released by the Taliban will supplement the ranks of those who are already there.

Based on operational claims and other evidence, my FDD colleague Bill Roggio and I have tracked the presence of al-Qaeda and affiliated groups in at least 18 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces from November 2020 to April 2021.

This evidence is bolstered by official analyses published by the U.S. government and U.N. Security Council.