What Is ISIS-K, the Islamic State Khorasan? - The New York Times

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Founded in 2015, the Afghan splinter group from ISIS counts as its foes U.S. forces and the Taliban.

Shortly after two explosions killed dozens of people on Thursday, including at least 13 U.S. troops and dozens of civilians outside Afghanistan’s main airport, President Biden vowed to get revenge.

“We will not forget,” Mr. Biden said from the White House. “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

Here’s what we know about the group that claimed credit for the attack.

What is ISIS-K?

The group, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISIS-K or ISIS-KP, is an Afghan affiliate of ISIS, which Mr. Biden’s two predecessors sought to destroy. ISIS-K, founded in 2015 by disaffected Pakistani Taliban, is smaller, newer and embraces a more extreme version of Islam than the Taliban, which just toppled the U.S.-backed government of Afghanistan after a 20-year bloody campaign.

ISIS-K “disregards international borders,” according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “and envisions its territory transcending nation-states like Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

The name Khorasan translates to “The Land of the Sun.” Khorasan refers to a historical region that includes parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

What are its roots?

The myriad terrorist organizations that have waged war on U.S. forces and allies are interlocked, aligned and in competition with one another for supremacy.

The terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001, was orchestrated by Al Qaeda, the terrorist group led at the time by Osama Bin Laden. In response to those attacks, U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan, ousting the Taliban government that shielded Bin Laden, and then Iraq, where President George W. Bush said a proactive strike against terrorism was needed.

After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, a branch of Al Qaeda broke away and established a so-called caliphate, an Islamic theocracy, in large parts of Iraq and Syria. At its peak, the territory was the size of Britain. That breakaway faction, called the Islamic State, or ISIS, was savvier about social media than Al Qaeda, which recorded long, crudely made videos, sometimes from its cave hide-outs. ISIS also appealed to a younger generation of fighters, in part by promising immediate glory and rewards for those willing to fight its enemies.

In 2015, ISIS announced that it was expanding into the Khorasan region.

Who are its enemies?

Like other terrorist groups, ISIS-K has targeted U.S. forces, their allies and civilians. But unlike the others, ISIS-K openly fought with other extremist Islamic organizations, like the Taliban.

In fact, among those killed in the attack at the airport in Kabul this week were at least 28 Taliban fighters, Reuters reported.

ISIS-K has been antagonistic mostly toward the Taliban, and the two groups have fought for turf, particularly in eastern Afghanistan. Since 2017, experts say, ISIS-K has been responsible for roughly 250 clashes with the U.S., Afghan and Pakistani security forces.

More recently, ISIS-K leaders have denounced the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, saying that the group’s version of Islamic rule was insufficiently hard line.

Understand the Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan

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Who are the Taliban? The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that came after the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including floggings, amputations and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here’s more on their origin story and their record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who have spent years on the run, in hiding, in jail and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to govern, including whether they will be as tolerant as they claim to be.

How did the Taliban gain control? See how the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in a few months, and read about how their strategy enabled them to do so.

What happens to the women of Afghanistan? The last time the Taliban were in power, they barred women and girls from taking most jobs or going to school. Afghan women have made many gains since the Taliban were toppled, but now they fear that ground may be lost. Taliban officials are trying to reassure women that things will be different, but there are signs that, at least in some areas, they have begun to reimpose the old order.

What does their victory mean for terrorist groups? The United States invaded Afghanistan 20 years ago in response to terrorism, and many worry that Al Qaeda and other radical groups will again find safe haven there.

But didn’t Trump destroy ISIS?

In October 2019, President Trump announced the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, saying in a speech that he was “the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world.” Mr. Trump went on to say, “We obliterated his caliphate, 100 percent, in March of this year.”

In January 2020, days after the U.S. killed a high-ranking military commander, Qasem Soleimani, Mr. Trump again bragged about having destroyed “100 percent of ISIS and its territorial caliphate.” He also said that Mr. al-Baghdadi “was trying again to rebuild the ISIS caliphate and failed.”

Clearly, it was not 100 percent.

Before Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death, he had expanded the organization and given subordinates considerable latitude to act. ISIS encouraged followers to act alone or in small groups. Hassan Abu Hanieh, a Jordanian expert on extremist groups, said at the time that “getting rid of the leader does not get rid of the organization.”

ISIS, he warned, “has created a new structure that is less centralized, and it will continue, even without al-Baghdadi.”

In 2016, a year after it was founded, ISIS-K was at its peak size, with about 3,000 to 4,000 fighters, according to analyst estimates. That figure was cut in half after the group was targeted by American airstrikes and Afghan commando raids.

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