The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has created political turmoil across the country and threatens the life of the public. Insurgency was escalated with the emergence of ISIL and allegiance of some Taliban fighters pledged to al-Baghdadi’s caliphate. Of late, the US formally designated the ISIL group’s affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a terrorist organization. The US State Department said the order concerned the Islamic State group’s “Khorasan Province” — which US officials refer to as “ISIL-K.” It is said that “the group is based in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and is composed primarily of former members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.” ISIL-K was reportedly involved in terrorist attacks and suicide bombings inside and across the border.
According to a recent report, more than 10,000 members of ISIL group are based in the distant regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The project by the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has been initiated amid concerns that members of the terror group seek to expand foothold in the region, including swaths of southern and central Asia under the terror group’s so-called Khurasan province.
However, the ISIL sources are cited to say that the loyalists of the terror group have been coming under pressure from some of its donors to increase activities in Central Asia, using its well-developed contacts with Central Asian jihadist groups in northern Afghanistan. “Early findings for the new research project suggest that Daesh has established a foothold in Afghanistan and is still growing. However, its advance more closely resembles a hurdle race than a triumphant march. So far, Daesh has been mainly troubling the Taliban, but it is unlikely that it will remain focused on competing with other insurgent groups.” Similarly, officials said on Wednesday that air strikes have destroyed a radio station run by Islamic State terrorists in eastern Afghanistan - two months after the group took to the airwaves in a sign of their growing reach. The Ministry of Defense stated that the program was broadcast from a moving vehicle and air strikes last week destroyed the transmission equipment hidden in the basement of a house in volatile Achin district.
In recent months Afghan forces backed by US drones launched a scorched earth offensive to beat back ISIL in Nangarhar, where the group’s reign of terror has displaced thousands of people.
President Ashraf Ghani recently vowed to “bury” the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, while voicing alarm over their growing reach. Earlier, Ghani ordered the Ministry of Defense to keep bombing members of the ISIL group and wanted them killed. Similarly, Afghanistan also joined the international coalition against the ISIL extremist group, bringing the total number of participant-countries to 66, reports say.
Last month, the White House gave the US military legal authority to target the group’s fighters in Afghanistan, the first such authorization for military action against the group outside Iraq and Syria. Recently, US Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that the international coalition led by the United States has conducted almost 10,000 airstrikes and killed more than 90 mid or high-level ISIL leaders since May 2015. He also pointed out that Washington would continue to increase its participation in the military operations against ISIL.
The insurgents, including the members of ISIL group, have inflicted heavy casualties on Afghan nation. The already staggering Afghan casualty figures have soared to new heights after the international combat mission ended a year ago. The country suffered almost 5,000 civilian casualties only during the first half of 2015; nearly 30,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed from 2009 to mid-2015. December saw a 57 percent rise in civilian casualties.
The stronger foothold of ISIL group will pave the way for further casualty in our land. A spark of sectarianism, such as abducting and killing ethnic minority group in recent times, seems to be the product of the ISIL’s presence in the country. No ethnic group will be immune to the poison spewed forth by IS insurgents. Moreover, it is self-explanatory that the ISIL group seeks to consolidate its presence in Afghanistan so as to fish in troubled water and hunt its prey in restive parts of the country – it will threaten the fragile political structure and democratic system. At his daily news conference, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, “It is absolutely true that Afghanistan remains a dangerous place; there’s no question about that. Today’s attack underscores that.” But he also underlined the need for a continued international mission in Afghanistan to improve the capability, confidence and competence of the local security forces that continued to do an admirable job.
Hence, according to US officials, Afghanistan is still a dangerous place and need the regional and international supports to end militancy. With the failure of the US project of “war on terror” and withdrawal of US-led NATO forces, militancy and death toll increased and members of ISIL gained firm foothold across the country – which is a matter of great concern for the government and for the public. Since, ISIL fighters are more radical and less flexible than the Taliban, military action will be the only effective strategy to work. Not only Afghan government, but the Middle East should join forces to launch a heavy attack against the ISIL fighters so as to reduce civilian casualties.