ISIS-K: Terror group still lingers in shadows

Post-Taliban took over of Afghanistan last August, the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant – Khorasan (ISIS-K) existence and operations are unfortunately still lingering in the region.

While ISIS no longer makes media headlines, a new low-profile – but a no less dangerous – branch of the group should be a cause for concern for security analysts, Alex Szokalski said writing in Policy Forum, Asia and the Pacific’s platform for public policy debate, analysis, views, and discussion.

As per United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the August 2020 report, a particular concern is a branch that calls itself ”, for Islamic State Khorasan Province. The term Khorasan refers to the vast territory encompassing north-eastern Iran, Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan.

The aim of ISIS has been to establish a worldwide caliphate, the usage of Khorasan suggests that there is a belief that they have a right to control or will control the territory of Khorasan and indicates an increased ambition by the group.

On 24 October 2020, a suicide bomber killed 30 people and injured 70 more in an attack on an educational centre in Kabul. Then, 8 May 2021 saw an attack on a school in western Kabul targeting children, while a week later they claimed an attack on a Kabul Mosque.

Source: Aninews