ISIS-K seeks to capitalize on Afghanistan's instability

KABUL -- The "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) has ambitions to establish a "caliphate" across South and Central Asia, capitalizing on Afghan authorities' inability to keep it at bay, analysts said.

In an October 29 analysis, Asia Times pointed out the failure of Afghan forces to deter ISIS-K and other armed groups.

The Kabul regime's feebleness in this situation "has made it look weak in the eyes of many Afghans, failing to provide the stability and security it promised when it returned to power," the outlet said.

ISIS-K's ongoing terror campaign includes a January assault in Dasht-e-Barchi, a Hazara neighborhood in Kabul; an April shooting that killed six Shia at a Herat mosque; and the September 12 slaughter of 14 civilians in Daikundi province.

The lack of serious intent to curb terrorist groups will have disastrous consequences for Afghanistan and its population, Tehran-based political analyst Abdul Khalil Khairandish told Salaam Times.

"There is no serious and decisive effort to eliminate terrorist groups in Afghanistan because the security forces lack the necessary intelligence and military resources to counter these groups," he said.

Furthermore, he added, "the soft policy of the Afghan government towards certain terrorist groups in the country is creating conditions for terrorism to spread into neighboring countries."

Regional threat

International extremist groups, including ISIS-K and al-Qaeda, pose a serious threat to South and Central Asian countries, London-based Afghan political analyst Sayed Hossein Safi told Salaam Times.

"The lack of an effective mechanism to counter terrorist groups in Afghanistan has heightened regional concerns about the activities of ISIS-K and other terrorist organizations," he said.

"ISIS-K is a significant threat to Afghanistan, the region and beyond," he said. "This group has expanded near Afghanistan's borders with Tajikistan and Pakistan, while al-Qaeda has established itself in various southern provinces."

Since mid-2021, ISIS-K has carried out complex and large-scale attacks across several Afghan provinces, and Afghan citizens fear the likelihood of future attacks, Kabul resident Masoom Khorshidi, 41, told Salaam Times.

Civilians "avoid going to mosques and gatherings out of fear of ISIS-K attacks, because this group spreads terror," Khorshidi said.

"Our demand is for a global fight against this criminal group," he added. "ISIS-K should be eliminated at its roots so the public can be safe from them."