ISIS steps up the violence to derail US-Taliban deal
As the US and the Taliban this week neared a deal to end America’s longest war, ISIS increased its violence in Afghanistan.
The country has been hit by a wave of bombings in recent days with ISIS killing 63 people and injuring almost 200 at a wedding reception on Saturday.
Two days later, as the country marked 100 years of independence, the eastern city of Jalalabad suffered a series of explosions in restaurants and public places that left dozens injured. Responsibility for the attack has not yet been claimed by any group.
Experts believe ISIS’s latest offensive in Afghanistan is an attempt to derail peace talks between the US, the Taliban and the Afghan government.
“ISKP [ISIS Khorasan Province – the group’s branch active in Afghanistan] is scared of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban, because they are getting hammered on the battlefield from two sides: by the pro-government forces, and by the Taliban,” Graeme Smith, a consultant for the International Crisis Group, said.
“ISKP does not want to see its two biggest enemies make peace and join forces against them. There’s a potential motive for them to conduct bigger, spectacular attacks now, on the eve of a historic settlement between the US and the Taliban.” ISIS does not have a strong presence in Afghanistan. Officials estimate that between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters could be in the country, a quarter of whom are probably foreigners.
A security official said up to 10 per cent of Taliban members could defect to ISIS after a US-Taliban deal, because the organisation has become increasingly fragmented. At the same time, the militants are trying to derail peace efforts by stepping up the violence.
The Taliban strongly condemned Saturday’s attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying there was “no justification for such deliberate and brutal killings and the targeting of women and children”.
President Ashraf Ghani, running for re-election on September 28, did not absolve the Taliban of all blame for the ISIS wedding bombing, saying the group provides “a platform for terrorists”.
Mr Ghani has since called for an extraordinary security meeting to address violence in the capital, including the rise of ISIS.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s attack, surviving wedding guests buried family members and friends.
The hall – a large, elaborately decorated room typical for weddings that are often attended by hundreds of people – was destroyed.
The hall’s manager, Haji Hussain, was at home when the explosion happened. Speaking from the venue, where the clean-up operation was still under way, he said he was tired of the violence.
“Every Afghan wants peace, but the government and the Taliban don’t want it,” he said. “Our entire lives have been full of fighting and terrorist attacks.”
Yet Afghans are sceptical that a US-Taliban deal would end violence in the region, with other groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda on the rise in the country.
“The peace talks don’t mean much to me,” said independent civil society activist Nargis Azaryun.
“It is clear that this is a game by Trump to win the hearts and minds of the American public for his election campaign. The Americans want an out and Trump is apparently giving them one. For Afghanistan, this wouldn’t be the end of the violence. Thousands of lives will be lost,” she said, referring to the increase in ISIS attacks. Mahmood Marhoon, a researcher at Kabul University, said that a deal is necessary, but is afraid that Afghanistan will be forgotten on a global level as ISIS grows in the country.
“We’ve already seen that whenever talks between the US and the Taliban are under way, ISIS tries to disrupt it. They don’t want the talks to finish,” he said.
“With the coming of the Taliban and even their possible integration into government, the war will not be finished.”