From Taliban to ISIS Khorasan: Afghanistan between jaws of terrorist pliers

Mustafa Kamel

After the emergence of ISIS Khorasan, which recently carried out terrorist operations in Afghanistan, the latest of which was a few days ago, the conflict has intensified between it and the Taliban, which is now the dominant force in the country.

On Thursday, August 26, ISIS claimed two attacks that targeted Kabul airport, which led to the killing and wounding of hundreds of Afghan civilians and Taliban militants who were securing the airport’s perimeter. Thirteen US soldiers were also killed in the two attacks, and 18 others were wounded, while US intelligence services warned that another attack was imminent.

Crushing each other

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a report on the causes, scenes and repercussions of the conflict between the Taliban and ISIS Khorasan, its implications for the situation in Afghanistan and neighboring countries, and the relationship of major countries with the Taliban after its return to power in the country.

WSJ had interviewed Abu Omar Khorasani, who was once the leader of ISIS in Afghanistan, two days before his execution by Taliban fighters. During the interview, he said, “They will release me if they are good Muslims.”

He recounted that he joined the terrorist organization when its operations began in Afghanistan, then was promoted and became emir of the province that includes the region of South Asia and the Far East, noting that ISIS attacks often benefited the Taliban, despite the hostility between the two organizations.

Khorasani was killed in one of the prison smuggling operations that took place in the city of Jalalabad last year, in which four suicide bombers and 11 militants affiliated with ISIS participated. During the operation, hundreds of prisoners were released from both the Taliban and ISIS.

It is clear that Khorasani built his assessment on the basis of the two movements’ pledges, each separately, to rid Afghanistan of Western occupation, but when Taliban fighters managed to enter Kabul on August 15 and took control of the prison in which Khorasani was staying, they freed hundreds of prisoners but chose to execute him and eight other members of his organization.

Regarding the enmity between the two groups, Khorasani said, “ISIS leadership is independent and the goals of ISIS are independent. We have a global agenda, so when people ask who can truly represent Islam and the entire Islamic nation, we are of course more attractive and achieve these goals,” noting that “everyone supported the Taliban movement in their confrontation with us in one way or another. It is no secret to anyone why they began to defeat us.”

Military officials say the Taliban, sometimes with the help of other countries and coalition forces, has been the winning side in the war against ISIS, as ISIS Khorasan was expelled from its strongholds in Afghanistan and its fighters scattered in search of hideouts. There also seemed to be little resistance with the Taliban’s invasion of the country in early August ahead of the scheduled US withdrawal from the country.

Bloody operations

In recent years, ISIS claimed responsibility for bloody attacks inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, where it carried out operations targeting civilians in mosques, hospitals and public places, in addition to targeting Muslims it considers infidels, especially Shiites.

In 2019, the Afghan army, after joint operations with the United States, announced the defeat of ISIS in the eastern province of Nangarhar. According to US estimates, the terrorist organization has been operating since then through its sleeper cells in cities in order to launch major attacks at a later time.

Regarding the Taliban’s return to power, ISIS strongly criticized the agreement concluded in February 2020 in Doha between Washington and the Taliban, which stipulated the withdrawal of US and foreign forces from Afghanistan, accusing the movement of retreating from what it described as the “jihadist cause.”

Regarding how ISIS has benefitted from the situation in Afghanistan, Mr. Q, a Western specialist in the affairs of the terrorist organization who publishes his research on Twitter under this pseudonym, referred to 216 attacks carried out by the organization between January 1 and August 11, 2021, compared to the 34 attacks it carried out during the same period last year.

He said that this makes Afghanistan one of the most active ISIS provinces, noting that not everything is directly related to the American withdrawal, but the Taliban victory provides an outlet for the terrorist organization.

Colin Clarke, director of the Soufan Center in New York, acknowledged that the collapse of the Afghan army is a strange reminder of what was witnessed in Iraq in 2011, saying, “I am afraid that the situation will be repeated in Afghanistan with the development of ISIS and the resurgence of al-Qaeda.”