Although government operations in eastern Nangarhar province had relatively harnessed the spread of activities of Daesh or the Islamic State for Khurasan (IS-K), there are signs that the terror group has regrouped and expanded its activities recently. Daesh remains a huge threat though it was not expected at the time of its emergence that it would gain a foothold in Afghanistan since its savage tactics in Iraq and Syria had frightened people and its chances of success to grow in Afghan society seemed dim from an ideological perspective, because the majority of Afghans practice Sunni Islam belonging to the Hanafi School of Islamic law, while IS members pursue Salafism, a more radical interpretation of the Sunni Islam. Additionally, Daesh had to fight on two fronts: against Afghan and foreign troops, and the Taliban who also viewed the group as a threat and fought fierce battles with it. Thus, there was an assumption that Daesh would not last longer, but the continuation and gradual expansion of the activities of the group proved the calculation wrong.
After suppression by Afghan and international forces, Daesh has once again resumed violent attacks in the country’s east. But this time, the group is more active in Kunar than Nangarhar. Just weeks ago, Daesh fighters engaged in fierce clashes with Afghan forces and the Taliban in the Chapa Dara district of Kunar province, displacing over 2,000 families in addition to inflicting heavy casualties. The group is suspected to be behind the latest bloody wave of violence in Nangarhar, particularly in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Beside the indifference of Afghan government and its Western allies towards the threat of Daesh, the arrival of foreign fighters in Afghanistan after the group was crushed in Iraq and Syria is another factor for the re-expansion of the group’s terror activities in Afghanistan. Some Daesh fighters from Iraq and Syria have reportedly come to Afghanistan. Unconfirmed reports even suggest that ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, may also be hiding out in Afghanistan.
While the possibility of the political settlement of Afghan conflict with the Taliban is ever high, the growing activities of Daesh in the war-battered Afghanistan dash the revived hopes for peace. Afghan government and its allies must not underestimate the threat of Daesh, and therefore should swing into action before the problem gets more serious and complex. If Daesh is not dealt with, even a peace deal with the Taliban cannot bring peace to Afghanistan.