Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed concern over the situation in Afghanistan, saying it poses a serious threat to neighboring countries.

During a meeting with Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister, Lavrov emphasized the need for cooperation to address security threats in the Central Asian region, particularly in Afghanistan.

He specifically mentioned Russia and Tajikistan as countries that could be affected by the instability in Afghanistan.

He added that cooperation within multilateral frameworks, such as the Moscow Format on Afghanistan, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), is essential to counter these threats.

Meanwhile, Russia and Tajikistan have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in combating terrorism and drug trafficking.

However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly called these concerns unfounded and consistently emphasized that it will never allow Afghan soil to be used against other countries.

Earlier, the IEA stated that regional joint efforts are necessary to eradicate terrorism.

The press office of the Samangan Police Command said in a statement on Friday that four worshippers were injured when a hand grenade was thrown by two individuals inside a mosque in the center of Aybak city, the capital of the province.

The statement stated the incident took place during Friday prayers at the Joe Zhondan Mosque in Aybak city, and the injured were transferred to the provincial hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The statement added the perpetrators are residents of Samangan and carried out this act due to personal enmity they had previously held against members of the mosque community.

The perpetrators were arrested by Samangan security forces while attempting to flee, along with a weapon. They are now under custody for further investigation, the statement read.

Principle routes for new Daesh recruits to Afghanistan include travel through Turkey and Iran, U.N. sanctions monitors said in a new report.

The latest report by the U.N. Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, covering June-December 2024, said that Daesh recruited Central Asians mostly Tajik nationals, and the recruits received training in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, and there are also training camps in Kunar and Nuristan provinces.

It said that there are over two dozen terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, and security threat emanating from the country is a continuing driver of instability in the region and beyond.

The report noted that the “ambition and scale of its [the TTP] attacks on Pakistan […] had significantly increased, with over 600 attacks during the reporting period, including from Afghan territory.”

“The Taliban (IEA) continued to provide TTP with logistical and operational space and financial support,” it said.

On al-Qaeda, the report said that the group sought to strengthen cooperation with regional terrorist organizations of non-Afghan origin that operate in the country, including TTP, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, ETIM/TIP and Jamaat Ansarullah to expand its presence in neighboring countries.

“The Taliban (IEA) maintained a permissive environment allowing Al-Qaida to consolidate, with the presence of safe houses and training camps scattered across Afghanistan,” the report said.

The Islamic Emirate has previously denied the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and emphasized that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against other countries.