Kabul: Just a few months later Taliban Taking charge in Kabul and promising to restore peace in Afghanistan, many Afghans still fear an invisible enemy: the Islamic State.
The local chapter of the jihadist group is copying the same tactics the Taliban have used so far to successfully destabilize the US-backed government, including bombings against symbolic targets.
“The Taliban called us infidels. Now, those who call them infidels are killing them,” said a shopkeeper near the scene of the latest massacre – a gun and suicide bombing attack on a military hospital on Tuesday.
“And they have no chance of winning this war,” he said.
The day after the attack, a sweeper passed with a hose to wipe the blood off the sidewalk and a Taliban fighter pointed to his Kalashnikov where the human remains were hanging from the perimeter razor wire.
Nineteen people were killed in the attack as claimed by Islamic State-Khorasani (IS-K), the local chapter of the group.
The operation gave the Taliban a chance to launch their feared Badri Special Forces and deploy a team from a helicopter in a display of force as they confronted a terrorist attack squad.
But the commander of the force, Kabul’s security chief Hamdullah Mokhlis, and at least three Taliban were killed fighting fellow militants.
A member of the hospital’s medical staff said they had warned the Taliban to manage traffic outside the building, which had been targeted earlier.
“They didn’t listen to us,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“They don’t know how to handle the situation. Four cars caught fire after the second explosion. They didn’t even think of calling the firemen. We had to do it ourselves. They don’t have the number.”
The hospital was last attacked in 2017 in another operation claimed by IS-K. In the encounter that lasted for six hours, the militants went from room to room killing the patients.
A doctor said that the Islamic State is the Taliban, but even worse.
“I can’t tell the difference between them. They have the same facial hair, the same clothes. To me they are two donkey ears.”
For some, IS-K is more lethal than the Taliban when they were fighting for control. They see a more sophisticated strategy, with multiple bombings and more complex tactics.
On Tuesday, a motorcycle suicide bomber hit the main entrance of the hospital and gunmen followed him.
As Taliban special forces were arriving at the scene 20 minutes later, a car bomb – which eyewitnesses say looked like a taxi – exploded.
“I’ve seen this all before, same exact strategy,” said another doctor.
“I know these tricks so well that, after the first explosion, when I saw people lying wounded, I still knew I couldn’t go to treat them, because the second explosion would soon happen, and it happened. ”
Security was tightened a day after the blasts. Heavily armed Taliban patrols in pickup trucks captured from former US-backed security forces flocked to the area.
Cars were stopped and searched, papers checked.
Hazrat Noor, a farmer from Jozzan province who had come to the capital for treatment, was delighted with the Taliban’s victory and vowed that “he will never feel safe in 40 years”.
Taliban guard Mohammad Torbi, leader on a cordon near the hospital, said his men could recognize IS-K fighters “because they are different, they are strangers, with different accents and behaviour”.
“This time they arrived in military clothes,” he said.
Taliban and ISIS-K. rivalry between
The Islamic State group came to prominence when it declared a “caliphate” in Syria in 2014.
This inspired several other branches, including “Khorasan”, a historical region taking over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.
Jean-Luc Maret of the French think tank The Foundation for Strategic Research described IS-K as “a group of former jihadist organizations including Uighurs and Uzbeks, and Taliban defenders”.
According to UN estimates, IS-K has between 500 and a few thousand fighters in northern and eastern Afghanistan, including cells under the Taliban’s nose in the capital, Kabul.
From 2020, the group is reputedly led by a . Has been doing Shahab al-Muhajiro, whose name de Guerre suggests he came to the region from the Arab world, but his origins remain unclear.
He has been an al-Qaeda commander or a former member of the Haqqani network, one of the most powerful and feared factions in the Taliban.
IS-K is responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent years, killing civilians in mosques, shrines, public squares and even hospitals in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The group has specifically targeted Muslims from sects it considers heretical, including Shia – much like the original IS group.
It was hit hard by both Taliban and US-led forces and was losing influence, but its attacks have intensified since its rival Islamists came to power in August.
According to Abdul Saeed, researcher at online extremism tracker ExTrac, Shahad “renewed emphasis on urban warfare and symbolic violence”.
Many IS-K fighters fought for the Taliban or affiliated groups, or came from insurgent movements inspired by al-Qaeda.
While both the Taliban and IS-K are staunchly Sunni Islamist militants, they differ on strategy and interpretation of the religion, claiming to be the true flag bearers of jihad.
Despite a history of targeting Shias, the Taliban have now vowed to protect them. IS-K, however, is intent on eradicating groups it considers “apostate”.
The 2021 Taliban aims to rule Afghanistan under an interpretation of Islamic law, while IS-K is still committed to the goal of a global “caliphate”.
While differences deepen, the boundary between groups is porous, and fighters can switch sides as their commanders’ ideas and opportunities develop.
“IS-K has previously been successful in recruiting disgruntled members of the Taliban and those who consider the Taliban to be very moderate,” said Barbara Keleman of Dragonfly Security Intelligence.
“With the Taliban now implementing some liberal reforms … there is a high probability that (IS-K) will try to capitalize.”
The ousted US-backed government in Afghanistan received hundreds of billions of dollars in support and security aid, but could defeat neither the Taliban nor IS-K.
Now the Taliban confront IS-K with very little outside aid, and none of the sophisticated intelligence and surveillance deployed by foreign forces.
However they know their enemy and the terrain, and announced the destruction of an IS-K cell in Kabul after a suicide attack last month.
And they have the potential support of two groups who know IS-K’s strategy very well.
According to a report by the US-based Soufan Center: “To counter IS-K, the Taliban is going to rely on manpower, combat expertise and logistical support from the Haqqani network, al-Qaeda and other violent non-state actors.” ”
The local chapter of the jihadist group is copying the same tactics the Taliban have used so far to successfully destabilize the US-backed government, including bombings against symbolic targets.
“The Taliban called us infidels. Now, those who call them infidels are killing them,” said a shopkeeper near the scene of the latest massacre – a gun and suicide bombing attack on a military hospital on Tuesday.
“And they have no chance of winning this war,” he said.
The day after the attack, a sweeper passed with a hose to wipe the blood off the sidewalk and a Taliban fighter pointed to his Kalashnikov where the human remains were hanging from the perimeter razor wire.
Nineteen people were killed in the attack as claimed by Islamic State-Khorasani (IS-K), the local chapter of the group.
The operation gave the Taliban a chance to launch their feared Badri Special Forces and deploy a team from a helicopter in a display of force as they confronted a terrorist attack squad.
But the commander of the force, Kabul’s security chief Hamdullah Mokhlis, and at least three Taliban were killed fighting fellow militants.
A member of the hospital’s medical staff said they had warned the Taliban to manage traffic outside the building, which had been targeted earlier.
“They didn’t listen to us,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“They don’t know how to handle the situation. Four cars caught fire after the second explosion. They didn’t even think of calling the firemen. We had to do it ourselves. They don’t have the number.”
The hospital was last attacked in 2017 in another operation claimed by IS-K. In the encounter that lasted for six hours, the militants went from room to room killing the patients.
A doctor said that the Islamic State is the Taliban, but even worse.
“I can’t tell the difference between them. They have the same facial hair, the same clothes. To me they are two donkey ears.”
For some, IS-K is more lethal than the Taliban when they were fighting for control. They see a more sophisticated strategy, with multiple bombings and more complex tactics.
On Tuesday, a motorcycle suicide bomber hit the main entrance of the hospital and gunmen followed him.
As Taliban special forces were arriving at the scene 20 minutes later, a car bomb – which eyewitnesses say looked like a taxi – exploded.
“I’ve seen this all before, same exact strategy,” said another doctor.
“I know these tricks so well that, after the first explosion, when I saw people lying wounded, I still knew I couldn’t go to treat them, because the second explosion would soon happen, and it happened. ”
Security was tightened a day after the blasts. Heavily armed Taliban patrols in pickup trucks captured from former US-backed security forces flocked to the area.
Cars were stopped and searched, papers checked.
Hazrat Noor, a farmer from Jozzan province who had come to the capital for treatment, was delighted with the Taliban’s victory and vowed that “he will never feel safe in 40 years”.
Taliban guard Mohammad Torbi, leader on a cordon near the hospital, said his men could recognize IS-K fighters “because they are different, they are strangers, with different accents and behaviour”.
“This time they arrived in military clothes,” he said.
Taliban and ISIS-K. rivalry between
The Islamic State group came to prominence when it declared a “caliphate” in Syria in 2014.
This inspired several other branches, including “Khorasan”, a historical region taking over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.
Jean-Luc Maret of the French think tank The Foundation for Strategic Research described IS-K as “a group of former jihadist organizations including Uighurs and Uzbeks, and Taliban defenders”.
According to UN estimates, IS-K has between 500 and a few thousand fighters in northern and eastern Afghanistan, including cells under the Taliban’s nose in the capital, Kabul.
From 2020, the group is reputedly led by a . Has been doing Shahab al-Muhajiro, whose name de Guerre suggests he came to the region from the Arab world, but his origins remain unclear.
He has been an al-Qaeda commander or a former member of the Haqqani network, one of the most powerful and feared factions in the Taliban.
IS-K is responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent years, killing civilians in mosques, shrines, public squares and even hospitals in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The group has specifically targeted Muslims from sects it considers heretical, including Shia – much like the original IS group.
It was hit hard by both Taliban and US-led forces and was losing influence, but its attacks have intensified since its rival Islamists came to power in August.
According to Abdul Saeed, researcher at online extremism tracker ExTrac, Shahad “renewed emphasis on urban warfare and symbolic violence”.
Many IS-K fighters fought for the Taliban or affiliated groups, or came from insurgent movements inspired by al-Qaeda.
While both the Taliban and IS-K are staunchly Sunni Islamist militants, they differ on strategy and interpretation of the religion, claiming to be the true flag bearers of jihad.
Despite a history of targeting Shias, the Taliban have now vowed to protect them. IS-K, however, is intent on eradicating groups it considers “apostate”.
The 2021 Taliban aims to rule Afghanistan under an interpretation of Islamic law, while IS-K is still committed to the goal of a global “caliphate”.
While differences deepen, the boundary between groups is porous, and fighters can switch sides as their commanders’ ideas and opportunities develop.
“IS-K has previously been successful in recruiting disgruntled members of the Taliban and those who consider the Taliban to be very moderate,” said Barbara Keleman of Dragonfly Security Intelligence.
“With the Taliban now implementing some liberal reforms … there is a high probability that (IS-K) will try to capitalize.”
The ousted US-backed government in Afghanistan received hundreds of billions of dollars in support and security aid, but could defeat neither the Taliban nor IS-K.
Now the Taliban confront IS-K with very little outside aid, and none of the sophisticated intelligence and surveillance deployed by foreign forces.
However they know their enemy and the terrain, and announced the destruction of an IS-K cell in Kabul after a suicide attack last month.
And they have the potential support of two groups who know IS-K’s strategy very well.
According to a report by the US-based Soufan Center: “To counter IS-K, the Taliban is going to rely on manpower, combat expertise and logistical support from the Haqqani network, al-Qaeda and other violent non-state actors.” ”
.