Analysts warn of rising financial strength of ISIS-K

KABUL -- The financial and logistical capabilities of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) in Afghanistan have grown over the past few years, enabling the group to carry out more complex attacks nationwide and regionwide, Afghan analysts say.

"The group's funding sources in Afghanistan include the illegal extraction of talc in Nangarhar province, extortion of businesses, tobacco sales in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and illegal taxes collected from locals," Muhammad Omar Saeedi, an Afghan political analyst based in Paris, told Salaam Times.

ISIS-K "particularly by illegally extracting and exporting talc, a key ingredient in baby powder, earns hundreds of thousands of dollars annually," he said.

"Most of these minerals are initially exported to Pakistan, where they are processed and packaged before being re-exported," he added.

The financial facilitators of ISIS-K also generate revenue by selling tobacco illegally in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Saeedi said.

Talc is found in many products, including cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals and paints.

ISIS-K receives donations from some local individuals and extorts local businesses, as well as taking funding from ISIS headquarters, said Aminullah Habibi, an international affairs analyst in London.

"ISIS-K has relied on ... hawala to manage and transfer its funds," he said.

The money helps ISIS-K recruit and train fighters, purchase weapons and equipment, and carry out military operations, Habibi said.

In July, the US Department of State announced a $10 million reward for information leading to disruption of the financial mechanisms of ISIS-K.

Tips can be submitted securely on the program's website.

Increasing threats

ISIS-K has killed hundreds of Afghans by targeting schools, mosques, healthcare and educational centers and even funerals.

Most recently, ISIS-K gunmen killed at least 14 civilians and wounded four others in Daikundi province September 12.

The authorities must collaborate with the international community to eradicate all of ISIS-K's revenue sources, said Mahdi Rezayee, 46, a Kabul resident.

As the sole provider for his family of seven, he said, "It is criminal that while I search for work from dawn till dusk, ISIS-K exploits our mines and other natural resources, using this money for terrorist attacks and killing us."

"The looting of Afghanistan's mines ... by ISIS-K is a crime," he added.

"Afghanistan needs its mining revenues. But when terrorist networks like ISIS-K steal these resources, Afghanistan once again loses economic growth opportunities," he said.

"If ISIS-K continues to strengthen its financial and military capabilities, it will lead not only to the genocide of the Afghan people but to trouble for neighboring countries," said Hashmatullah Sanayee, 35, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif.

"The plundering of natural resources by ISIS-K and other terrorist groups" impoverishes and destabilizes Afghanistan, he added.