UN warns of growing ISIS-K threat in Afghanistan

KABUL -- The "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) poses a significant threat to Afghanistan, the region and beyond, according to a report by the United Nations (UN) Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

Although Afghan security forces carried out more than 100 operations against ISIS-K affiliates in 2023 and 2024, the group increased its activities to expand its territory, the July 8 report said.

"The more the de facto authorities claim that foreign terrorists do not use its territory to threaten other Member States, the more [ISIS-K] is determined to prove them wrong, advancing the notion of 'wider Khorasan,'" it added.

ISIS-K has stepped up recruitment of new members in northern Afghanistan, it said.

"[ISIS-K] has strengthened in northern regions of Afghanistan, increasing recruitment within Tajik and Uzbek communities and stockpiling arms and explosives in remote mountainous areas," it said.

ISIS-K recruits members by exploiting conflicts between certain extremist and terrorist groups based in Afghanistan and has infiltrated some Afghan security ministries.

ISIS-K has dispersed from its central areas in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, with one group moving to Badakhshan and others to Herat and Nimroz provinces, it said.

A complex strategy

ISIS-K has used Afghans for attacks in Pakistan, Pakistanis in Afghanistan, and Tajiks in Iran and Russia, according to the UN report.

This tactic has fostered distrust among Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, with each country accusing the others of supporting ISIS-K, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported.

ISIS-K is not only a threat to Afghanistan but to the entire world, said Mohammad Haleem Zaheen, a retired Afghan army colonel in Herat.

"This year we have witnessed deadly ISIS attacks in Russia, Iran and Afghanistan. This shows that [ISIS-K] is a common threat to the region and the whole world," he told Salaam Times.

"ISIS continues to secretly recruit and strengthen its military capabilities," he said. "In several provinces, ISIS has established a presence and has become much stronger than before."

Afghan youth are growing increasingly concerned about the group's activities.

"ISIS killed several of our relatives in Guzara district, and since that incident, we have been living in fear," said Feroz Ahmad Wahidi, 23, a college student in Herat province.

"I haven't been going to the mosque for prayers for several months because I'm afraid ISIS will attack our mosque," he told Salaam Times.

"We had previously hoped that ISIS had been eradicated from the country, but on the contrary, the group's activities have increased," he added. "I am very fearful of ISIS's presence in Herat."