While the Taliban is trying to consolidate its power and gain legitimacy, they have another challenge from the ultra-extremist Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the Afghanistan affiliate of ISIS. In the last 48 hours, the ISIS-K has launched as many as six attacks on the group killing more than 35 Taliban fighters.
"More than 35 Taliban militants were killed & several wounded in a series of bombings carried out by Islamic State fighters in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan" the ISIS-K statement reads, which was released by the IS central media outlet, Aamaq.
Today #ISKP via Amaq News Agency have claimed a string of attacks on Taliban forces in Nangarhar. pic.twitter.com/iLqcSgefr0
— Wardak Media (@wrdakmedia) September 19, 2021
The ISIS-K also released the video clip shared by an Afghan Journalist Bilal Sarwary on Twitter, ”One of the ISIS-K attacks which targeted a Taliban patrol in Nangarhar capital, Jalalabad city, yesterday. The group has claimed seven attacks in the last 48 hours in Jalalabad against the Taliban fighters. A beginning of a new brutal era in Afghanistan, only the vulnerable Afghans suffer.”
#ISKP claimed 7 IED attacks against #Taliban in #Jalalabad.#Afghanistanpic.twitter.com/ioyl5qzkRs
— Yellow (@Yellow34950210) September 19, 2021
The ISIS-K said the attacks had been mounted because the Taliban are keeping Shia commanders in their ranks and the leaders have good relations with Iran. The ISIS-K media wing released the propaganda video titled "The Taliban are supporters of the Shias.”
In this video, the group highlighted the scenes of punishment by the Taliban to criminals, criticizing it for not being based on Sharia. Instead of cutting the hand of the thief according to Sharia, just parade him in public with a blackened face, due to fear of losing the chance of recognition by the international community.
The group had claimed responsibility for the airport attack last month ,striking a major blow against the departing US forces and Afghanistan’s new rulers, the Taliban. The ISIS-K which caused such devastation at the Kabul airport, did to underline its message as the “true” jihadist cause, while the Taliban and al-Qaeda were collaborating with the West in the evacuation.
“ISIS-K has claimed the recent attacks in Jalalabad. This is troubling, given that it has suffered major losses in Nangarhar in recent months. The group remains resilient and dangerous, and it will pose one more challenge for the Taliban as it tries to consolidate power,” says Michael Kugelman, South Asia senior associate at the Wilson centre.
With their latest attack, the ISIS-K has undermined the Taliban’s claim of being able to provide security and stability.
Also Read: ISI-linked Pakistani Aslam Farooqui is the mastermind behind Kabul airport attack
The emergence of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the umbrella organisation that includes ISIS-K, has often been attributed to sectarian dynamics and Sunni-Shia conflicts from the Arab world to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Interestingly, while the ISIS-K is fighting against the Taliban, according to experts, there was an alliance between the group and the Taliban’s Haqqani network. They had been fighting together against the previous Afghan governments and the US troops.
Despite the Haqqani Network being one of the most lethal components of the Taliban movement, it maintained a close link with the ISIS-K. Many of the attacks claimed by the ISIS in Kabul were undertaken jointly with the Haqqanis who facilitated them and perhaps even executed them.
As the harsh winter looms, experts believe that the ISIS-K will increase its attacks and violence will continue in Afghanistan. In a role reversal, the ISIS-K will do what the Taliban used to do before they came back to power.
Also Read: Why is Islamic State claiming responsibility for killing Hazara deminers in Afghanistan?
