Terrorism Concerns Grow as Saudis Plan Air Corridor to Afghanistan

Afghan sources reported on Tuesday that an air corridor between Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia will be inaugurated next week.

Khaama press quoted Samir Rasa, a spokesperson for a senior Afghan presidential adviser in banking and financial affairs, as saying that a memorandum of understanding has been signed for the inauguration of the air corridor between the two countries.

According to Rasa, that new air route will open next week and the first flight is going to transport 500 kg of saffron and other commodities from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia.

While the air corridor is said to be part of plans to boost Afghan trade and facilitate exports, there are concerns that it could be used for deployment of extremist Saudi-affiliated militants to Central Asia.

After collapse of the self-proclaimed caliphate of the Daesh (ISIL) terror group in Syria and Iraq in November 2017, sponsors of the Takfiri militants have been focusing on Central Asia and Afghanistan as a new hotbed of terrorist activities.

Daesh has stepped up terrorist attacks on Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, making it the deadliest place in the country for civilians in recent months.

In April 2018, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani suggested that neighbors of Afghanistan should develop a joint security and intelligence mechanism to counter the threat of terrorism and foil plans for the transfer of Takfiri terrorists to Afghanistan.