ISKP: What we know about the Islamic State of Khorasan – The attacks it has carried out

The death toll from the horrific attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow is 133 dead and the number is growing by the hour. Islamic State has claimed responsibility and experts point to the group’s Afghanistan-based offshoot (ISKP) as being responsible for the bloodbath, although there is so far no evidence that this is the case.

The Islamic State of Khorasan (Islamic State Khorasan Province ISKP) is the most violent arm of the Islamic State based in Afghanistan, while according to official sources it has been active for some time in Pakistan as well. It was created in 2015 when a group based in Iraq and Syria was trying to expand by creating a network of affiliates across the Middle East, the Maghreb, West Asia and other parts of Africa. It first emerged in eastern Afghanistan where it was staffed by 4,000-6,000 former al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

It is recalled that the Islamic State wanted to create a caliphate in the historical region of the Levant, which stretches from Turkey, includes Syria and reaches Israel – including Jerusalem.

The Guardian analyzes the deadly Sunni group’s actions through questions and answers, shedding light on its dark past and terrifying future.

Do ISKP attacks always focus on international targets?

No, and that is why it is significant that the ISKP did not claim responsibility for the Moscow attack. This came from ISIS communication “channels” and not from ISKP.

Also, the Islamic State offshoot has focused primarily on a local campaign until relatively recently. It has launched hundreds of attacks against both civilian targets and security forces, including Western forces, in Afghanistan. Two attacks in 2020 targeted a Kabul maternity hospital and Kabul University. Others have targeted mosques and ethnic or religious minorities in Afghanistan.

The group was also responsible for a highly destructive attack on Kabul International Airport in 2021, which killed 13 US soldiers and more than 150 civilians during the chaotic US-ordered evacuation of the country.

Sadness around the world from the hit in Moscow

Has he changed strategy and is now hitting international targets?

To an extent, yes. The group has hit targets in Tajikistan and Pakistan as well as a hotel in Afghanistan favored by Chinese citizens. Earlier this year, the US intercepted communications confirming the group had carried out two bombings in Iran that killed nearly 100 people – although the ISKP did not claim responsibility.

Earlier this month, a top US general in the Middle East said the ISKP could attack US and Western interests outside Afghanistan “in as little as six months and without warning”.

Why is ISKP able to launch these kinds of attacks?

In recent decades, many extremist Islamist organizations have changed their goals by shifting their action. The reasons may vary from group to group. Sometimes a new leadership is able to change the agenda by ordering long-range international attacks in order to attract new troops, win new resources, or mobilize followers disillusioned by local failures.

It is also possible that ISKP is acting on direct orders from ISIS leaders. Despite the collapse of its caliphate in Syria and Iraq, ties remain between the ISKP and its senior figures. In 2022, a UN report based on information from member states stated that the ISKP was a recipient of funds from the leadership.

ISIS is still looking for opportunities for such strikes. A network that planned to attack a concert hall in Brussels and failed was allegedly inspired by Islamic State.

Only destruction

Why would ISKP or IK leaders target Russia?

ISIS leaders, like many Islamist militants, are aware of Russian support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and see Moscow as part of a wider coalition of Christian or Western powers against Islam. This is a key point made by ISIS propaganda from Pakistan to Nigeria.

In September 2022, ISKP militants claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing attack on the Russian embassy in Kabul. Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center said the ISKP “views Russia as complicit in activities that routinely oppress Muslims.”

ISKP leaders may also see Russia, along with China and others, as important to the continued dominance of the Taliban and seek to undermine them. An attack on Moscow would thus combine their local and global agendas.