Kabul: As desperate Afghans rush to flee Kabul airport trying to board any evacuation flights TalibanOfficials warn of another jihadist threat: Islamic State Group.
President Joe Biden said there is “an acute and increasing risk” of an attack on the airport by the regional chapter of the group called Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K.
The United States, Britain and Australia have asked people to leave the area for safer places.
When asked directly about the threat, a Taliban spokesman acknowledged the risk of “nuisance” that could lead to trouble in the chaotic situation, blaming the US-led evacuation entirely.
In 2014, months after Islamic State declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the militants parted ways Pakistani Taliban The militants in Afghanistan joined forces to form a regional chapter, pledging allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The group was formally acknowledged by the central Islamic State leadership the following year as it had taken root in northeastern Afghanistan, particularly in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces.
According to UN monitors, it also managed to set up sleeper cells in Pakistan and other parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul.
The latest estimates of its strength range from several thousand active fighters to as low as 500, a . According to UN Security Council Report released last month
“Khurasani“A historical name for the region, which is today Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter of Islamic State has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in recent years.
It has led to massacres of civilians in both countries in mosques, religious places, public squares and even hospitals.
The group has specifically targeted Muslims from sects it considers heretics, including Shias.
Last year, it was blamed for an attack that shocked the world – gunmen opened a bloody stampede at a maternity ward in Kabul’s predominantly Shiite neighborhood, killing 16 mothers and still-borns.
Beyond the bombings and massacres, IS-Khorasan has failed to capture any territory in the region, with Taliban and US-led military operations inflicting heavy losses.
After a phase of heavy defeats, according to UN and US military assessments, IS-Khorasan now operates largely through secret cells located in or near cities to carry out high-profile attacks.
While both groups are radical Sunni Islamist militants, no love is lost between them.
Claiming to be the true flag bearers of jihad, they differ on the specifics of religion and strategy.
That feud has sparked bloody fighting between the two, with the Taliban largely victorious after 2019 when IS-Khorasan failed to secure the region as its parent group did in the Middle East.
In a sign of animosity between the two jihadist groups, IS statements have referred to the Taliban as apostates.
not good.
Islamic State has strongly criticized the deal last year between Washington and the Taliban that led to the withdrawal of foreign troops, with the latter accused of abandoning jihadist causes.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of power over Afghanistan, many jihadist groups around the world congratulated him – but not the Islamic State.
An IS commentary published after the fall of Kabul accused the Taliban of betraying the jihadists with a US withdrawal deal and vowed to continue their fight, according to the Intelligence Group, a site that tracks terrorist communications.
US officials say the Kabul airport, with thousands of US-led foreign troops surrounded by huge crowds of desperate Afghans, is under extreme threat from IS-Khorasan.
A flurry of nearly identical travel warnings from London, Canberra and Washington late Wednesday urged people gathered in the area to move to safer places.
He did not give any specific information about the danger.
“ISIS-K is a staunch enemy of the Taliban and they have a history of fighting each other,” Biden said on Sunday.
“But every day we have soldiers on the ground, these soldiers and innocent civilians at the airport are at risk of an ISIS-K attack.”
Some military transports taking off from Kabul airport in recent days have been seen launching flares, which are usually used to attract heat-seeking missiles.
President Joe Biden said there is “an acute and increasing risk” of an attack on the airport by the regional chapter of the group called Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K.
The United States, Britain and Australia have asked people to leave the area for safer places.
When asked directly about the threat, a Taliban spokesman acknowledged the risk of “nuisance” that could lead to trouble in the chaotic situation, blaming the US-led evacuation entirely.
In 2014, months after Islamic State declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the militants parted ways Pakistani Taliban The militants in Afghanistan joined forces to form a regional chapter, pledging allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The group was formally acknowledged by the central Islamic State leadership the following year as it had taken root in northeastern Afghanistan, particularly in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces.
According to UN monitors, it also managed to set up sleeper cells in Pakistan and other parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul.
The latest estimates of its strength range from several thousand active fighters to as low as 500, a . According to UN Security Council Report released last month
“Khurasani“A historical name for the region, which is today Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter of Islamic State has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in recent years.
It has led to massacres of civilians in both countries in mosques, religious places, public squares and even hospitals.
The group has specifically targeted Muslims from sects it considers heretics, including Shias.
Last year, it was blamed for an attack that shocked the world – gunmen opened a bloody stampede at a maternity ward in Kabul’s predominantly Shiite neighborhood, killing 16 mothers and still-borns.
Beyond the bombings and massacres, IS-Khorasan has failed to capture any territory in the region, with Taliban and US-led military operations inflicting heavy losses.
After a phase of heavy defeats, according to UN and US military assessments, IS-Khorasan now operates largely through secret cells located in or near cities to carry out high-profile attacks.
While both groups are radical Sunni Islamist militants, no love is lost between them.
Claiming to be the true flag bearers of jihad, they differ on the specifics of religion and strategy.
That feud has sparked bloody fighting between the two, with the Taliban largely victorious after 2019 when IS-Khorasan failed to secure the region as its parent group did in the Middle East.
In a sign of animosity between the two jihadist groups, IS statements have referred to the Taliban as apostates.
not good.
Islamic State has strongly criticized the deal last year between Washington and the Taliban that led to the withdrawal of foreign troops, with the latter accused of abandoning jihadist causes.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of power over Afghanistan, many jihadist groups around the world congratulated him – but not the Islamic State.
An IS commentary published after the fall of Kabul accused the Taliban of betraying the jihadists with a US withdrawal deal and vowed to continue their fight, according to the Intelligence Group, a site that tracks terrorist communications.
US officials say the Kabul airport, with thousands of US-led foreign troops surrounded by huge crowds of desperate Afghans, is under extreme threat from IS-Khorasan.
A flurry of nearly identical travel warnings from London, Canberra and Washington late Wednesday urged people gathered in the area to move to safer places.
He did not give any specific information about the danger.
“ISIS-K is a staunch enemy of the Taliban and they have a history of fighting each other,” Biden said on Sunday.
“But every day we have soldiers on the ground, these soldiers and innocent civilians at the airport are at risk of an ISIS-K attack.”
Some military transports taking off from Kabul airport in recent days have been seen launching flares, which are usually used to attract heat-seeking missiles.
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