BANNED MILITANT GROUPS BUOYING ISIL, OFFICIALS WARN
A brutal attack on a beloved Sufi shrine that killed 88 people raised fears that ISIL has become emboldened in Pakistan, aided by an army of homegrown militants benefiting from hideouts in neighbouring Afghanistan, analysts and officials said Friday.
Pakistani security forces have carried out sweeping countrywide raids following Thursday’s bombing of the shrine in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province that also wounded 343 people.
The military’s public relations wing reported on its official Twitter account that more than 100 suspected “terrorists” were killed in the raids, while government officials lashed out at Kabul accusing the Afghan government of ignoring earlier pleas to crackdown on militant hideouts.
Zahid Hussain, an expert on militants in the region, said a toxic mix of violent Sunni militant groups, many belonging to banned groups that are flourishing under new names, have wrapped themselves in the banner of ISIL.
“The Islamic State (group) might not have a strong organizational structure in Pakistan but we have thousands of members of banned groups sympathetic to the (their) ideology,” Hussain said in an interview.
“They subscribe to the Islamic State (group) world view.”
Thursday’s terror attack — Pakistan’s deadliest in years — threatened to drive a deeper wedge between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad quickly lashed out at Kabul, saying the bombing was masterminded in militant sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan. Overnight Thursday, Afghan authorities said 17 Afghan soldiers were killed by ISIL insurgents.