Breaking bones: Continuous war between ISIS and Taliban makes Afghanistan victim

Mustafa Kamel

The ongoing struggle between the Taliban, which took control of the reins of power in Afghanistan, and ISIS-Khorasan to impose full control over the country is still not resolved, especially after the repeated operations launched by the terrorist organization against the movement in many of the regions.

Constant fighting

The fighting has become brutal between the Taliban and ISIS-Khorasan in Nangarhar province, where bodies appeared, rumored to be ISIS elements who were killed by the Taliban in targeted extrajudicial killings, as the terrorist organization was relentless in attacking the Taliban military units. This also occurred in other parts of the country as well.

The website Inside Arabia revealed in a report the details of the current conflict inside Afghanistan between the Taliban and ISIS-Khorasan, explaining the steps taken by the two organizations to impose their control on the land. The website pointed out that the new Taliban regime had to quickly move from twenty years of fighting against militarily advancing armies to setting their sights on a shadowy secret network of several thousand militants affiliated with ISIS-Khorasan.

This comes at a time when accusations have been leveled against the Afghan movement of maintaining close contacts with terrorist organizations and of being unable to sever these relations. The head of the foreign relations department of the Afghan National Resistance Front, Ali Maisam Nazary, confirmed that the Afghan movement still maintains close contacts with terrorist organizations, especially ISIS and al-Qaeda, saying, “The Taliban’s connections to international terrorism are inexhaustible. The Taliban is simply unable to sever these ties, because thanks to them, the terrorists have a chance to gain legitimacy. All expectations of the movement’s separation from extremist groups are completely unfounded.”

Russia has repeatedly expressed concerns about future security in Central Asia, and it has conducted several military exercises with Tajikistan and other allies along the border region with Afghanistan. Moscow has not yet given official recognition to the Afghan movement and has also expressed its dissatisfaction with the new regime in Kabul receiving representation in the United Nations.

On the other hand, ISIS-Khorasan accused the Afghan movement of cooperating with the United States in evacuating from Afghanistan by providing security around the airport, as well as signing the Doha Agreement, which helped facilitate Washington’s exit from its long military involvement in Afghanistan.

Although thousands of ISIS-Khorasan prisoners managed to escape from prisons when the Taliban took over the reins of power in the country, many of them returned to the ranks of the terrorist organization instead of joining the new Taliban emirate being created in Kabul. The terrorist organization has returned to its brutal methods of carrying out suicide bombings, striking and launching attacks on the Taliban, and demonstrating its ability to reach senior members of the movement by targeting the funeral of the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at the Eidgah Mosque in Kabul on October 3.

Clash of ideas

The Inside Arabia report confirmed that the battle is over military power and that the confrontation between the Taliban and ISIS-Khorasan will be a struggle of ideas that will eventually allow the Taliban to seize power. The Taliban has even begun to persecute members of the Afghan Salafi community, which they believe can serve as a potential source of recruitment and support for the terrorist organization there. Meanwhile, ISIS-Khorasan faces an uphill struggle to attract new supporters when an extremist Islamist movement has already secured victory and has established itself in Kabul.

In late October, the Taliban negotiated with ISIS cells in Nangarhar to surrender with the help of local tribal leaders, with a group of 65 members of the organization agreeing to give up their fight with ISIS-Khorasan, although they would be closely monitored by Taliban intelligence.

Observers in Afghan affairs believe that if the Americans are concerned about their homeland being targeted again by violent Islamist extremists, Afghanistan is not the place they should be watching the most, as the struggle for influence pits the Taliban movement against ISIS-Khorasan, which is considered much stronger than any remnants left by al-Qaeda in those countries. They noted that if Washington wants to continue fighting ISIS-Khorasan, it will have to join the column of Afghanistan’s neighbors who are threatened by the organization.

As for the future of the Taliban, observers affirm that it is certain that the future of Afghanistan will become a dictatorship, but the question of whether the new regime can obtain support from abroad is still unclear. They noted that ISIS-Khorasan has consistently proven that it has the ability to launch destructive and complex terrorist attacks and to continue operations against the Afghan movement in the future.