IS-K in Afghanistan: Attacks Linked to the Terrorist Group in the Past Year

IS-K is linked to several attacks over the past year, several of which they have taken responsibility for.

IS-K or Islamic State-Khorosan is the official affiliate of the Islamic State movement operating in Afghanistan

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, which was concretised by the group’s entry into Kabul on 15 August, several jihadist groups including Al-Qaeda congratulated the Taliban, but not Islamic State (IS).

The Islamic State has been critical of the deal between the Taliban and the US, accusing the former of abandoning the jihadist cause.

IS-Khorosan (IS-K) is the official affiliate of the Islamic State movement operating in Afghanistan, as recognised by Islamic State core leadership in Iraq and Syria.

Several believed that the IS-K, after territorial and leadership losses in 2019 and 2020, was defeated. However, with the recent bombings at the Kabul airport, which left at least 72 Afghans and 13 US troops dead, it is seemingly becoming evident that the IS-K is fully operational.

The Kabul airport is at the heart of the evacuation process for Afghans fleeing the country, with thousands of US troops guarding it.

Following the bombing on Thursday, US President Joe Biden issued a threat saying, “We will not forgive. We'll not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

However, IS-K is linked to several attacks over the past year, having claimed some, while others are expected to be linked to them.

Attack During Holiday Ceasefire

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion inside a mosque near Kabul on 14 May, which killed at least 12 people during the Eid al-Fitr holiday ceasefire as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.

The blast came less than a week after another explosion at a school on 8 May. The explosions caused by the car bomb and mortars killed 80 people, most of them schoolgirls from the ethnic Hazara Shi'ite Muslim minority, Reuters reported.

Both the attacks were condemned by the Taliban, while no one claimed responsibility for the 8 May attack.

Female Media Workers Killed in March

Three female media workers were shot dead in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on 2 March, while they were on their way home. Though no one claimed responsibility, an armed suspect with Taliban links was arrested. However, Taliban denied any role in the attack.

Orzala Ashraf Nemat, head of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) think tank based in Kabul, said the women were high school students who worked part time at Enikass, The Guardian reported.

On 10 December 2020, Malala Maiwand, a women's rights activist who worked as a news anchor at Enikass was killed in Jalalabad, along with her driver. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the killing.

Attack on Kabul University

The killing of Maiwand came a month after heavily armed gunmen attacked Kabul University on 2 November, killing at least 35 people, mostly students, as per government sources. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported.

The assault on the university was the second attack on an educational institution, after an earlier attack on 24 October, which killed 24 students at a tutoring center in Kabul’s mostly Shiite neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, news agency AP reported.

Islamic State gunmen had also attacked a prison in Jalalabad in August 2020, Nangarhar province, killing at least 29 people and freeing more than 300 prisoners.

The attack began on 2 August, with car bombs being detonated by gunmen at the prison’s entrance. The gunfight lasted for about 20 hours, while eight of the attackers were killed, BBC reported.

Though IS-K is a comparatively weakened organisation, if it is able to replenish its ranks, and remain relevant with high-profile attacks, then it is likely to make a comeback and pose threats on the national, regional, and international levels.

(With inputs from Reuters, The Guardian, BBC, and AP.)