Return of ISIS: Taliban fight ‘join ISIS in droves’ - ‘US is concerned’
ISIS is once again on the rise, with the terror group now boasting as many as 14,000 fighters in Afghanistan alone.
By Emily Ferguson
Tue, Sep 17, 2019
ISIS 'developing' with new caliphate claims expert
The Afghan branch of ISIS, known as Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), is gaining ground as Taliban hardliners angry about peace negotiations with the US have “joined ISIS in droves”, according to experts. IS-K, formed in 2014 and known for its ruthless violence and gory propaganda videos on social media, is believed to be responsible for a surge in violence of ISIS violence this year. The attacks have raised fears of an ISIS resurgence even though the group was defeated in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands earlier this year.
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The Financial Times reported the expansion of the ISIS affiliate across Afghanistan has led to growing concern the group will create a haven for terrorists to organise violence abroad, recreating the conditions that allowed al-Qaeda to organise the 9/11 attacks on the US.
Afghanistan is seen as an important region to recuperate and plan their next phase of operations.
Jonathan Schroden, a military analyst at research organisation CNA, said: “The US is most concerned about IS-K as potentially the next big thing inside ISIS.”
Another expert said the ISIS affiliate is growing steadily in size, as new recruits are joining IS-K from across the Middle East.
ISIS is one again on the rise with as many as 14,000 fighters in Afghanistan (Image: NC)
Antonio Giustozzi, war historian and author of The Taliban at War, said: “The ISIS caliphate is gone but it reorganised in Afghanistan after a period of disruption.
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