ISIS-K commander killed in special operation in Nangarhar

NANGARHAR -- The killing of an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) commander in Nangarhar province confirms concerns about the terrorist group's presence in eastern Afghanistan, residents say.

Zakirullah, also known as Abu Sher, was killed July 7 in a counter-terrorism operation targeting an ISIS-K hideout in Mohmand Dara district, local media reported.

Reports identified Zakirullah as ISIS-K's military commander in Achin district.

ISIS-K has recently expanded its presence in parts of Nangarhar, said Naeem-u-Haq Ghorzang, a military analyst in the province.

"The threats posed by ISIS-K in border areas with Pakistan are very serious," he told Salaam Times. "In recent months, many ISIS-K members have come to these areas from Syria and Iraq."

The group "is recruiting and training its forces in the tribal areas of Pakistan and some border districts of Afghanistan," he said.

"ISIS-K has become stronger than before," Ghorzang said, adding that the group has gained the ability to carry out attacks throughout and beyond Afghanistan.

Fear persists

A recent uptick of ISIS-K's activities in Nangarhar province has aroused local fears.

Many Nangarhar residents have experienced some form of ISIS-K's brutality in recent years, said Baryali Selaab, 35, a provincial resident.

"A few years ago, ISIS-K members killed my uncle in Achin district in a bombing," he said. "They show no mercy to anyone and consider killing a point of pride."

"Zakirullah, who was recently killed, was directly involved in killing civilians in Achin," Selaab said, noting that he is "still worried about ISIS-K's presence in Nangarhar."

"I am really afraid that either I or members of my family will become victims" of ISIS-K, said Mohammad Khogyani, 27, another resident of Nangarhar.

The presence of ISIS-K in the Afghan-Pakistani border zone threatens not only Afghanistan but the world, said Khushal Abdali, a civil rights activist in Nangarhar.

"The calm of the past two years ... was like the calm before the storm," he said. "During this period, the group strengthened itself and now has the capability to carry out bloody attacks across the country."

"ISIS-K is hiding even in cities ... there is a possibility of it carrying out bloody terrorist attacks in urban areas," Abdali warned.

Several countries at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) special session June 21 voiced concerns about terrorism in Afghanistan.

ISIS-K has "demonstrated increased transnational terrorism capabilities through large-scale, multiple casualty attacks" in the region, said a US Department of Defense report published in late May.

In a January report, the UNSC warned that ISIS-K "has continued to pose a major threat in Afghanistan and the region despite losses in territory, casualties, and high attrition among senior and mid-tier leadership figures."