Who is ISIS-K?

The word Khorasan strikes a chord deep in the heart of jihadists. One of the sayings (hadiths) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad says: “There will emerge from Khorasan black banners which nothing will repel until they are set up in Jerusalem”.

This is part of a prophecy which leads to the Mahdi (Messiah) showing up and the subsequent End of Days. The ISIS flag is black based on the belief that Muhammed himself flew such a banner. So, if you are in ISIS (Khorasan) you might believe that you are in the vanguard to establish a caliphate in the region, leading to global domination, and the ultimate goal – ushering in the end of the world. 

Failing that you might also get a slave bride from a conquered people, not to mention all sort of kickbacks from manning checkpoints and even a slice of the action in the drug trade.

Khorasan is a Persian word for a region in Central Asia which includes parts of what are now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Another name for ISIS-K is ‘Islamic State Wilayat Khorasan’ roughly meaning the Khorasan Administrative Region of the Islamic State. It was formed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province sometime around 2014. Most members were Pakistanis who had been in the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Islam group but had fled across the border.

Its first emir was Hafiz Saeed Khan, a former TTP commander who swore allegiance to the then ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Both men have subsequently died in U.S. airstrikes. There are thought to be fewer than 3,000 ISIS-K fighters in Afghanistan today. The group remains dominated by Pakistanis,  most of whom speak Urdu and not Pashtu (the language of most of the Taliban) although there are also Afghans among their ranks.

It is said the two groups are sworn enemies. Broadly speaking that is true.  Indeed, ISIS-K has even described the Taliban as ‘apostates’ and there have been multiple clashes between them especially in the eastern provinces. However, there are connections between them not least that some of ISIS-K fighters are former Afghan Taliban members.

The main faction within ISIS-K  remains dominated by Pakistanis and has its headquarters in Nangarhar. But there is an offshoot which comprises mostly of men from the Central Asian republics which operates in the north of the country. Both ISIS groups have carried out numerous atrocities with particular ferocity aimed at the Afghan Shia minority – the Hazara. It is not confirmed but it’s thought it may have been behind last year’s attack on a maternity ward in a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul in which 16 mothers and mothers-to-be were murdered.

Late last night, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack at Kabul airport. It was the probable culprit. The Afghan Taliban contains so many factions such as the Haqqani network, and inter-Taliban rivalry could plausibly have had some involvement in the atrocity. However, the identical warnings from the U.S., UK, and Australia, mentioning a potential imminent threat and naming ISIS-K suggested shared intelligence that the group was planning such an action.

If ISIS-K is responsible, this means that the attack was a direct challenge to the Taliban leadership even if the Taliban’s statement said it took place in an area for which the Americans had responsibility. The Taliban must, and will respond, and they will respond violently. The bloodletting in Afghanistan continues.