Factbox: What is Islamic State in Afghanistan?
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Factbox: What is Islamic State in Afghanistan?

South Asia

Reuters
26 August, 2021, 11:25 pm
Last modified: 26 August, 2021, 11:29 pm

Related News

  • Taliban say female Afghan TV presenters must cover face on air
  • Taliban dissolve Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, other key bodies
  • Taliban invites former president Ghani to attend the Afghan assembly
  • Taliban's first annual Afghan budget foresees $501 million deficit
  • G7 tell Taliban: Stop restricting women's rights

Factbox: What is Islamic State in Afghanistan?

Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region, first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality

Reuters
26 August, 2021, 11:25 pm
Last modified: 26 August, 2021, 11:29 pm
An overview of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 24, 2021, in this satellite image obtained by Reuters on August 26, 2021. Satellite image 2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS.
An overview of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 24, 2021, in this satellite image obtained by Reuters on August 26, 2021. Satellite image 2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS.

Following are some facts about the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, which US officials believe was behind suspected suicide bomb attacks outside Kabul airport that killed at least 13 people:

- Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region, first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.

- Some experts on Islamist militancy in the region say it was founded by hardline elements of the Pakistani Taliban who fled into Afghanistan when Pakistan security forces cracked down on them.

- From the beginning, the hardline Sunni Muslim group generally known as Daesh challenged the Taliban for control of key areas on the border with Pakistan associated with smuggling of narcotics and other commodities.

- At the same time, it also carried out a series of suicide bombings in Kabul and other cities against both government and foreign military targets, apparently aimed at establishing its credentials as a more violent and extreme militant movement.

- Its attacks ranged from the brutal executions of village elders to the killings of Red Cross workers and suicide attacks on crowds, including a series of bloody suicide operations against targets associated with the Shi'ite minority.

- Initially confined to a small number of areas on the border with Pakistan, the group established a second major front in northern provinces including Jawzjan and Faryab. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point said ISIS-K includes Pakistanis from other militant groups and Uzbek extremists in addition to Afghans.

- In April 2017, a US cargo aircraft dropped a 20,000-pound bomb, known as the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs), on a cave complex linked to ISIS-K in Achin district, eastern Afghanistan. It was the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal.

- ISIS-K has fought both the Western-backed government and the Taliban, but its precise operational connection with the main Islamic State movement in Iraq and Syria remains uncertain.

- US intelligence officials believe the movement used the instability that led to the collapse of the Western-backed government this month to strengthen its position and step up recruitment of disenfranchised Taliban members.

- Among its recent targets was a Sufi mosque, electrical pylons and fuel tankers and Shi'ite bus passengers in Kabul. In addition, US officials believe an attack on a girls school for the mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority was the work of ISIS-K.

Top News / World+Biz

Islamic State / Afghanistan / Taliban

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A vendor wearing plastic overalls and surgical mask, waiting at his stall for buyers at Karwan Bazar. The ever-bustling marketplace has very few buyers now as many people have either left the city or are purchasing online to avoid going out. Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    Grocers’ plight as sales on credit increase
  • Policies on cards to pave way for private heliports, helipads
    Policies on cards to pave way for private heliports, helipads
  • Concerns over india's wheat export ban
    Tough conditions get in way of Indian wheat import

MOST VIEWED

  • Pakistan bans imports of all non-essential luxury goods - minister
    Pakistan bans imports of all non-essential luxury goods - minister
  • PM Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden at last G-20 summit. Photo: Collected
    Quad to take up the Indo-Pacific challenge in Tokyo
  • Laborers wait after unloading the sacks of rice at a wholesale market, amid the country's economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    Thousands queue for petrol, gas in Sri Lanka amid warnings of food shortages
  • Represenattional image. Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh immigrants found guilty in Bengaluru gang rape case
  • Rakhi Singh, Sita Sahu and Laxmi Devi, three of the five petitioners who filed a plea to pray every day before the idol of a goddess and relics inside the Gyanvapi mosque, speak with the media after they leave the mosque in Varanasi, India, May 14, 2022. Picture taken May 14, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
    Hindu women press for access to Indian mosque, in latest dispute
  • File image
    India allows goods import from Bangladesh by rail, framework set

Related News

  • Taliban say female Afghan TV presenters must cover face on air
  • Taliban dissolve Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, other key bodies
  • Taliban invites former president Ghani to attend the Afghan assembly
  • Taliban's first annual Afghan budget foresees $501 million deficit
  • G7 tell Taliban: Stop restricting women's rights

Features

The Buffalo shooter targeted Black people, linking mass migration with environmental degradation and other eco-fascist ideas. Photo: Reuters

Eco-fascism: The greenwashing of the far right

25m | Panorama
Green-backed Heron on a tilting stalk. Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Green-backed Heron: Nothing but a prayer to catch a fish  

2h | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

‘High logistics cost weakens Bangladesh’s competitiveness’

4h | Panorama
Every morning is a new beginning for all

Seashore

5h | In Focus

More Videos from TBS

Photo: TBS

US Congress to hold first public UFO panel

55m | Videos
Pollution killing 9 million people a year

Pollution killing 9 million people a year

55m | Videos
Photo: TBS

Steps necessary to ensure economic stability

1h | Videos
Photo: TBS

The right way to apply for jobs at int'l orgs

1h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

4
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

5
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

6
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab