Terrorists. Who are these people? Where do they come from? Are they one of us, or circumstantial maladies that form a vital cog in the multi-billion dollar global defence industry?
If one has to go through the list of terror groups sanctioned by the United Nations, it will take days before even arriving at the half-way mark.
Every now and then, when ‘superpowers’ of the world announce that they have been successful in putting a full stop to a rogue organisation, another one opens a new chapter to negate any semblance of normalcy.
The carnage that splashed blood on the already stained portrait of Afghanistan following the twin suicide bombings at Kabul airport on Thursday have not only fueled fears in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, but also displayed the emerging threats from a more menacing terror group such as the Islamic State.
The regionally-based Islamic State-Khorosan Province, or IS-K, claimed responsibility for the dastardly bombings that killed more than 100 people, including 13 United States soldiers who were facilitating evacuations. The attacks were carried out despite multiple, location-specific intelligence warnings.
The US military casualty figure was the worst single-day setback for the Pentagon in Afghanistan since 2011.
With the Taliban returning to power in the Central Asian country after 20 years, Afghanistan could once again become the breeding place for other terror organisations such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Nightmares galore!
Islamic State-Khorasan – Who are they?
‘Khorasan’ is a historical moniker for the Islamic region comprising parts of today’s Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
The inception of this offshoot organisation can be traced to the time when just months after the Islamic State declared its caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014, splinter groups from the Pakistani Taliban militancy joined those in Afghanistan to form their own chapter, pledging allegiance to Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The IS-K was then formally recognised by the IS leadership in 2015 as it cemented its place in northeastern Afghanistan – Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces.
Along with this, UN monitors noted that the offshoot terrorist group also set up sleeper cells in various other pockets of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Kabul. Estimates of the organisation’s strength vary from several thousands to even 500.
A peek into IS-K’s terror attacks
The Afghanistan-Pakistan branch of the IS is responsible for some of the most horrific attacks in recent years, slaughtering civilians in both the countries, including mosques, shrines, hospitals and public squares.
The terrorist outfit especially targets their Muslims brethren from sects that it considers apostate, such as the Shias.
Despite massacres and bombings, the Islamic State-Khorasan has been unsuccessful in having territorial control in the region due to the Talibani influence and US military operations.
As per UN intel, IS-K now predominantly operates through sleeper cells based out of cities, aiding high-profile terror strikes.
IS-K’s relationship with the Taliban
While both the terrorist groups consist of hardline Sunni militants, they differ on the intricacies of Islam and operational strategies, claiming to be the rightful flag-bearers of ‘jihad’.
That scrimmage has resulted in heavy rebellions between them, with the Taliban emerging victorious in 2019 after IS-K failed to secure its territory. Such is their animosity that the Islamic State has even called the Taliban ‘defectors’.
After the Taliban’s blitzkrieg in Afghanistan, scores of terrorist groups across the world lauded them, but not the Islamic State.
