The rise of Daesh in Afghanistan
Asuicide bombing at a wedding party in Kabul claimed by a local Daesh affiliate has renewed fears about the growing threat posed by its thousands of fighters, as well as their ability to plot global attacks from a stronghold in the forbidding mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. Here’s a look at Daesh in Afghanistan, a militant group some US officials have said could pose a greater threat to the world than the more established Taliban:
The beginning of Khorasan Province
The Daesh affiliate appeared in Afghanistan shortly after the group’s core fighters swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014. The Afghan affiliate refers to itself as the Khorasan Province, a name applied to parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia during the Middle Ages. Despite the defeat of Daesh in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands, the extremist group has reverted to staging frequent insurgency-type attacks in both countries against security forces and civilians.
A treasure chest of $300m
In a report to the United Nations Security Council earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Daesh has been left with as much as $300 million following the loss of its territory, “with none of the financial demands of controlling territory and population”. He warned that the lull in Daesh-directed international attacks “may be temporary” and said Afghanistan remains the best-established conflict zone among those attracting foreign extremist fighters from within the region.
Allegiance to Al Baghdadi
The Daesh affiliate in Afghanistan initially numbered just a few dozen fighters, mainly Pakistani Taliban driven from their bases across the border and disgruntled Afghan Taliban attracted to the more extreme ideology of Daesh. While the Taliban have confined their struggle to Afghanistan, the Daesh militants pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the reclusive leader of the group in the Middle East.
Sophisticated capabilities
The Afghan affiliate suffered some early setbacks as its leaders were picked off by US air strikes. But it received a boost when the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan joined its ranks in 2015. Today, the UN says it numbers between 2,500 and 4,000 fighters, many from Central Asia but also from Arab countries, Chechnya, India and Bangladesh, as well as ethnic Uighurs from China. Daesh is seen as an even greater threat than the Taliban because of its increasingly sophisticated military capabilities and its strategy of targeting civilians.
Turning to the Taliban
In recent months the Taliban have said they have no ambitions to monopolise power in a post-war Afghanistan, while Daesh is committed to overthrowing the Kabul government on its path to establishing a global caliphate. The Taliban and Daesh are sharply divided over ideology and tactics, with the Taliban largely confining their attacks to government targets and Afghan and international security forces.