IS-K, the deadliest of all
The IS-K, or Islamic Statekhorasan Province, has claimed responsibility for the attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul’s airport. The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group is among the extreme and violent of all the Islamist militant groups in Afghanistan. A look at who are the members of the group and how serious a threat they are:
Who are IS-K members?
The IS-K was officially founded in January 2015. It soon managed to consolidate territorial control in several rural districts in north and northeast Afghanistan, and launched a lethal campaign across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Within its first three years, the group launched attacks against minority groups like Hazara and Sikh populations, public areas and institutions, and government targets in major cities across Afghanistan and Pakistan. By 2018, it had become one of the top four deadliest terrorist groups in the world, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Terrorism Index.
The group’s background...
The IS-K was founded by former members of the Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The group has also poached militants from other groups.
Substantial evidence shows that the group has received money, advice, and training from the Islamic State’s core organisational body in Iraq and Syria. Some experts have placed those figures in excess of $100 million.
The IS-K is based in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, close to drugand people-smuggling routes in and out of Pakistan.
What are its aims?
Its general strategy is to establish a beachhead for the Islamic State movement to expand its so-called caliphate to Central and South Asia. It aims to cement itself as the foremost jihadist organisation in the region, in part by seizing the legacy of jihadist groups that came before it.
How extreme is it?
Every evidence we have in hand shows that IS-K cells have their roots in Talibs & Haqqani network particularly the ones operating in Kabul. Talibs denying links with ISIS is identical/similar to denial of Pak on Quetta Shura (militant organisation composed of the leaders of the Afghan Taliban). Talibs have learned very well from the master.
AMRULLAH SALEH, self-proclaimed 'caretaker' president of Afghanistan
IS-K members have been blamed for some of the worst atrocities in recent years, targeting girl schools, hospitals and a maternity ward where they reportedly shot dead pregnant women and nurses.
What relationship does the IS-K have with the Taliban?
The IS-K sees the Afghan Taliban as its strategic rivals. It brands the Afghan Taliban as “filthy nationalists” with ambitions only to form a government confined to the boundaries of Afghanistan. This contradicts the IS’ goal of establishing a global caliphate. The IS-K has also tried to recruit Taliban members, while also targeting their positions.
Despite their differences, the groups are linked...
According to experts, there are strong ties between the IS-K and the Haqqani network, which in turn is closely linked to the Taliban. The man now in charge of security in Kabul is Khalil Haqqani, who has had a $5-million bounty on his head.