Unknown to the general public, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) is nevertheless a major player in terrorism, claiming many violent attacks in Afghanistan in recent years, including those at Kabul airport, perpetrated this Thursday, August 26. .
According to a UN report, published in July 2021, the organization has between 500 and 1,500 fighters, in addition to several sleeper cells that it has disseminated in the Afghan capital, but also abroad, in Pakistan.
Firmly opposed to the Taliban, this terrorist group rallied to Daesh has just struck a blow by reaching both its Taliban enemies, but also the Americans, before they leave Afghanistan.
According to a final report, still provisional, disclosed this Friday, August 27, the day after the double-bombing at Kabul airport was recorded at least 85 dead, including thirteen American soldiers, and at least 160 wounded.
when was iskp created?
The Islamic State of Khorasan province was born in January 2015 with the unification of cadres from the Afghan Taliban and the Tehrik-e-Taliban, a faction made up of the Taliban based in Pakistan. For this, this small group first pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State in Mosul (Iraq), a few months earlier.
There are many differences between the ISKP and the Taliban, both politically and ideologically. Their religion is different because the Salafism, of the Shiite current, which they advocate goes against the traditional Hanafi Islam, of the Sunni current, advocated by the Taliban. The ISKP also denounces the Doha agreement, signed in February 2020 between the Taliban and the United States, implementing the gradual withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan.
Where are they located and what are their actions?
Geographically, Khorasan is a region that encompasses Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and part of Central Asia. In detail, the ISKP is mainly established in the district of Achin, within the province of Nangarhar, and less widely in the province of Kunar in Afghanistan.
In August 2019, the ISKP had killed 96 Shiites during a wedding among the Hazaras. In May 2020, the organization attacked a maternity hospital in a Shiite neighborhood in Kabul, killing 25 people, including 16 mothers and several newborns.
