Extremists target vulnerable youth via social media as Afghanistan influence drops

KABUL -- Faced with declining influence in Afghanistan, the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) has pivoted to exploiting vulnerable youth in other countries through social media campaigns, experts said.

As it did on the ground in Afghanistan, the extremist group attempts to exploit young men's desperation and personal struggles in cyberspace, using their troubles as entry points for radicalization.

ISIS-K disseminates its propaganda in 12 languages, including Dari and Pashto, across several popular social media platforms.

Its posts target unemployed and hopeless youth, encouraging them to carry out attacks in countries where the group lacks physical presence, Kabul-based political analyst Tawab Qaderi told Salaam Times.

"Some of the young people in Western societies who suffer from identity crises or mental health issues are primary targets for ISIS," he said.

"The group exploits the emotions of vulnerable youth through exaggerated propaganda and deceives them."

In one example of the group's online radicalization efforts, Afghan native Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi was arrested in the United States in October and charged with plotting a mass shooting on election day.

Tawhedi fled Afghanistan in 2021 and was subsequently radicalized by online ISIS-K propaganda, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

This shift to the online area signals that ISIS-K, which has struggled to gain traction in its traditional strongholds, is on the back foot, Qaderi said.

"ISIS-K has lost credibility in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of the region and is widely despised by the public," he said. "Recruitment in these countries has become difficult, which is why it has shifted focus."

'Failed project'

Despite its online recruitment efforts, ISIS-K's influence in Afghanistan continues to wane as the group's ideology clashes with the local culture and widely held religious beliefs.

Traditional Afghan values do not align with those of ISIS-K, creating insurmountable obstacles for the group, Herat-based political analyst Abdul Qader Kamel told Salaam Times.

"Despite having access to vast financial and military resources, ISIS-K has achieved nothing in Afghanistan," he said.

"They haven't even captured a single piece of land as their own territory. Their fighters remain hidden in remote mountain caves, living in constant fear."

The group's failure extends beyond territorial control.

"ISIS is a foreign and cursed phenomenon in the eyes of Afghans," Kamel added. "Even with heavy propaganda and enormous funding, the group has failed to gain any meaningful support among the population."

"In Afghanistan, ISIS is a failed project and is in decline."

Over the past decade, ISIS-K killed and injured thousands of civilians in Afghanistan, with most victims targeted in mosques or in public spaces.

Rather than demonstrating strength, these assaults on civilians reflect the group's desperation and tactical failure, Kamel said.