The organization of the "ISIS" Afghanistan branch - known as "ISIS-Khorasan" - is considered the most branch of the organization in terms of the strength of the terrorist operations it carries out after the central branch of the organization in Syria and Iraq. Although ISIS-Khorasan ranked fifth (in 2020) and sixth (in 2021) in terms of the number of operations carried out by the organization after its branches in Iraq, Syria, West Africa and Central Africa, the nature of the target and the tactics of terrorist operations carried out by ISIS Khorasan is considered the largest and most influential, whether against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and government forces in Kabul - before the Taliban took control - or against US and international forces, which raises many questions about the nature of the target for ISIS-K. This affected its position within the map of the various branches of the organization.
different genesis
In July 2014, the leader of the "Pakistan Taliban" movement, Habibullah Habib, announced the pledge of allegiance to the former leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, less than a month after the latter announced the establishment of the so-called "ISIS caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, where Habibullah Habib published A video message entitled "Pakistani Support for the Islamic State", in which he said: "I declare the pledge of allegiance and confirm that we are soldiers of the Islamic State, giving our money and our lives for it."
This message prompted Jamaat al-Ahrar, led by Qasim Omar Khorasan, in turn, to declare allegiance to al-Baghdadi in August of the same year, so that Jamaat al-Ahrar was the first organization in Central and Southeast Asia to join ISIS, as it formed the first nucleus in the establishment of the organization’s branch. ISIS Khorasan" after the group announced its split from the "Pakistan Taliban" movement, and the former spokesman of the "Taliban" movement Ehsanullah Ehsan announced at the time: "The organization (the state) in Syria and Iraq is working to implement Islamic law, and Al-Ahrar group supports and helps it if possible." .
This accelerated scramble by elements of the "Pakistan Taliban" movement to join the "ISIS" imposed on the former the necessity of getting closer to the "ISIS" organization, as it announced, in a statement in October 2014, its support for the establishment of the so-called "ISIS Caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, She said: "We, our brothers, are proud of you and your victories. We are with you in your joys and sorrows." Then several leaders and members of the Taliban movement (Pakistan and Afghanistan) joined ISIS, until the organization of ISIS-Khorasan was announced on January 10, 2015, through a video called “Wilayat Khorasan”, in which its leader Hafez Saeed Khan spoke, to announce the official pledge of allegiance. Al-Baghdadi and the “ISIS” organization in Iraq, followed by sending a message from the former spokesman of the organization, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, on the 26th of the same month, entitled “Say: Die in your anger,” in which he announced support for accepting the pledge of allegiance and appointing Hafez Saeed Khan as leader of the branch of ISIS-Khorasan and choosing Abdul Raouf servant as his deputy.
Less than six months later, the "Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan", led by Osman Ghazi, announced joining ISIS Khorasan, which also succeeded in including the "Al-Fateh" group in the Khyber region of Pakistan led by Jal Zaman Al-Fateh, the "Heroes of Islam" group, and the "Unity and Jihad" organization. In Peshawar, Pakistan, under the leadership of Obaidullah Al Peshawari, the branch expanded within the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Hence, the element of experience represented an important axis of differentiation for the organization. Compared to the other branches, which include elements that do not have much experience, it was remarkable that "ISIS Khorasan" included elements that participated in the war against the Soviet army in the eighties of the last century, and also engaged in a guerrilla war in the nineties, in a way that had a prominent role in enhancing its capabilities. And gaining experience in carrying out terrorist operations and expanding the scope of his activities, which put him at the forefront of ISIS branches that have organizational and military expertise that does not seem easy.
Fighting and targeting priorities
Despite the similarity of all extremist and terrorist organizations in doctrinal and ideological premises, there is a distinction between them regarding the levels of takfir, which include nearly 26 levels of takfiri, in a way that imposes specific strategies and tactics for each organization in terms of the so-called “fighting and targeting priorities.” Or what is called the jurisprudence of “blood / jihad”.
Since the first moments of its inception, ISIS has focused on the so-called "immediate enemy" or "the near enemy", meaning local regimes within the pivot countries, as well as non-Sunni Islamic sects and sects (Shiites - Sufis...etc), considering that Targeting Western and non-Islamic countries comes at a lower level in the jurisprudence of the priorities of the fighting, or what the organization calls the “deferred enemy” or the “distant enemy.”
Although most of the organization’s branches accepted this arrangement in the priorities of the target and worked with it, the “ISIS Khorasan” branch has been characterized by a special case since its first inception, and it has continued during the past years, as the organization combined the concepts of “near enemy” and “far enemy” as a determinant of the nature of The target, as a result of being affected by the role played by some of its elements in confronting the Soviet and American occupations in Afghanistan, and most of the other elements were affected by the literature of the “Al-Qaeda” organization and the Salafi-jihadi school in Pakistan, where the Sheikhs of the Takfiri Salafi movement played an important role in formulating the specifics of ISIS-Khorasan. Similar to Sheikh Omar Mansur, the emir of the “Red Mosque” group (Lal Mosque) in Islamabad, Saad Al Emirati, the emir of the “Saad bin Abi Waqqas” group in Logar Province in Afghanistan, Sheikh Mohsin, the emir of the “Kunar Province” group in Afghanistan, and Sheikh Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost. , and Sheikh Aminullah al-Bashawari, as these takfiri Salafi theorists formulated the “fiqh of blood” or what is called “the jurisprudence of atonement and fighting,” which considered that attacking the United States of America and Western countries is no less important than fighting local regimes, which means bringing together Between the concepts of "near enemy" and "far enemy", which explains why ISIS Khorasan targeted US forces in Afghanistan, through several operations, the most effective of which was the one that took place in the vicinity of Kabul Airport on August 26 (2021), where 13 people were killed. American.
How did "Khorasan" become the first source of threat to Washington?
Since the announcement of the establishment of ISIS-K in January 2015, the United States of America considered the organization one of the most important sources of threat it faces, which prompted it to carry out a qualitative operation targeting its leader and deputy, Hafez Saeed Khan and Abdul Raouf Khadem on February 9, 2015, after less than A month from the announcement of its founding, resulted in the death of the latter.
Less than a year later, on January 15, 2016, Washington was able to kill the first, and even went so far as to use one of the most deadly weapons in its military arsenal against ISIS by dropping a smart bomb - known as the "mother of all bombs" - on April 13, 2017, For the first time in its history since the bomb was developed in 2003, it was used against one of the organization's concentrations in eastern Afghanistan. Numerous reports have indicated that this weapon is a "massive aerial bomb" weighing about 9.8 tons and representing the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the American arsenal, and its destructive power reaches 11 tons of TNT, which confirms the danger of ISIS. Khorasan” for the United States of America, compared to the rest of the organization’s branches in the countries of the world, which are close to 16 branches.
This danger also prompted the American forces to carry out a qualitative operation, on August 28, in response to the attack on Kabul Airport two days earlier, which resulted in the killing of leaders of the organization, which was followed by another attack by the latter against the American forces for the second time, by targeting Kabul airport with six Katyusha missiles on the 30th of the same month, which indicates a change in the organization's strategy towards increasing reliance on targeting the "far enemy", in a way that may significantly affect the nature of the target for the various branches of the organization.
In general, it can be said that the direct repercussions of the terrorist operations carried out by the organization “ISIS Khorasan” - which has turned into one of the most important challenges facing the parties concerned with the Afghan file - may go beyond the borders of Afghanistan and extend to other countries, especially those in which there are branches of the organization, especially There are many indicators that make these operations a prelude to changes in the map of terrorist and takfiri movements at the regional level
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