In recent years, the "Islamic State" is reported to have carried out significant strikes in Afghanistan.
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| [ ISIS in Afghanistan ] |
In recent years, the "Islamic State" is reported to have carried out significant strikes in Afghanistan. There's also the theology of a Salafist Islam that's quite aggressive.
The Afghan branch of the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS) is accused of being responsible for some of the country's most deadly assaults in recent years. Since the beginning of the week, there have been increasing reports that he is plotting an attack on Kabul airport. On Tuesday, American President Joe Biden stated that the terrorist group was known to seek out American and ally soldiers, as well as civilians, on a daily basis.
Terrorists attacked the Afghan capital's airport on Thursday, killing a large number of civilians. The suspicion immediately shifted to the IS's local chapter.
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The "Islamic State - Khorasan Province" (ISKP or ISIS-K) was established in early 2015 by Pakistani Taliban-affiliated militant Islamists. Several dozen IS members from Syria and Iraq joined the organisation, but most importantly, despite ideological differences, many Taliban defected to the ISKP.
Many younger Afghans from the urban middle class have also joined the ISKP, according to a 2020 research by the US Institute of Peace think group. This demonstrates that the idea of a violent Salafist Islam is gaining traction in Afghanistan. Numerous attacks on civilians suspected of being members of the ISKP have occurred.
How strong is the ISKP?
More than 90 people were killed in a quadruple attack on a girls' school in Kabul alone in the beginning of May. The victims, as in previous incidents, belonged to the Hazara ethnic minority, which is Shiite. Unlike al-Qaeda and, to a lesser extent, the Taliban, the Sunni IS and its offshoots target Shiites.
The Afghan government not only fought terrorists, but also the Taliban. Drone attacks by the US military have been used to indirectly help rebels. In an air attack on ISKP retreat locations in eastern Nangarhar province in April 2017, the US used the biggest conventional bomb in its arsenal. For a long period, the ISKP's stronghold was the hilly area near the Pakistani border.
The Afghan government stated at the end of 2019 that the ISKP had been vanquished in the country. Aslam Faruqi, the head of the ISKP, was captured in April 2020. Even after that, the gang was blamed for a series of attacks.
Their strength is estimated in a variety of ways. According to other accounts, there were barely 500 to 1500 fighters in the area recently. In July 2021, a UN Security Council report warned that the ISKP had established sleeper cells in many regions and had strengthened its presence in and around Kabul.
©Source: FAZ