The expanding news of Takfiri terrorist group is repeatedly heard in Afghanistan after they lost its so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq. It is said that more than 5,000 IS forces that fled from Syria and Iraq, have sheltered in Afghanistan and they will be a serious threat to security of the country. Recently, the First vice President, Abdul Rashid Dostum has warned that Daesh terrorist group would likely take Taliban’s place if the militants abandon insurgency. He also said that Daesh presence was a matter of concern in Afghanistan, adding that the terrorist group would take place in the battle ground after Taliban.
Dostum said to his supporters that he had shared his concern over Daesh threat with President Ghani, but he assured that “Afghan soldiers would take revenge”. Few days later, the National Directorate of Security’s Special Unit has detained at least six members of Daesh (Islamic State) extremist group, in an operation conducted in Kabul. It is said that These Daesh members were involved in kidnappings, transferring of weapons and explosives, and relocating of Daesh members to Nangarhar—an eastern province. However, there is no mention about exact place where the security forces conducted the operation, but the statement said a number of weapons were also seized from the arrested Daesh loyalists.
Reportedly, the detained individuals are identified as Mohammad Abed, Subhan Ahmad, Hamdullah, Mohammad Younus son of Mohammad Gul, Mohammad Younus son of Haji Babrak and Abdul Rashid. The group was secretly operating under the direction of Din Mohammad known as Naweed, who is in charge of the group in the capital Kabul. The terrorist group has so far asserted responsibility of several attacks mostly against religious gatherings and scholars in the country. The Afghanistan affiliate refers to itself as the Khorasan Province - a name applied to parts of Afghanistan, Iran and central Asia in the middle Ages.
This comes after recent expression of Alexander Bortinkov, the head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and Scott Miller, the US commander of resolute support forces as they alarmed security Daesh threats in Afghanistan. Mr. Burtinkov had said that more than 5,000 IS forces that fled from Syria and Iraq have sheltered in the northern borders of Afghanistan and they will be a serious threat to the security of entire region. Scott Miller had also said that al-Qaeda is still in some parts of Afghanistan fighting against the Afghan government in coordination with other terrorist groups. In recent months, there were many reports of full coordination between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and the unity of the two terrorist groups.
Nevertheless, the presence of Takfiri group is not new in Afghanistan; initially, they announced its expansion to the Khorasan region in 2015, which historically encompasses parts of modern day Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Despite initial skepticism about the group’s existence from analysts and government officials alike, Takfiri group has been responsible for nearly 100 attacks against civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as roughly 250 clashes with the U.S., Afghan, and Pakistani security forces since January 2017. Though the group has yet to conduct attacks against the U.S. homeland, the group represents an enduring threat to U.S. and allied interests in South and Central Asia.
According to experts, the Takfiri Terrorist Group is more dangerous than Taliban. In recent months, the Taliban have said they have no ambitions to monopolize power in a post-war Afghanistan, while IS is committed to overthrow the Kabul government on its path to establishing a global caliphate. However, The Islamic State group has lost its caliphate in Syria and Iraq, but in the forbidding mountains of northeastern Afghanistan the group has expanded its footprint, recruiting new fighters and plotting attacks on national and international security officials.
The other reason which makes them more brutal than Taliban is because of its increasingly sophisticated military capabilities and its strategy of targeting civilians, both in Afghanistan and abroad. Concerns run so deep that many have come to see the Taliban, which has also clashed with IS, as a potential partner in containing it. According to U.S. intelligence official, the recent wave of attacks in the capital, Kabul, is “practice runs” for even bigger attacks in Europe and the United States.
Thirdly, the terrorist groups, especially Daesh Takfiri group is the most ignorant and foolish people of the world as they are used as an aimless tool by intelligence networks. Unfortunately, many regional and global powers directly or indirectly use them as weapon against one and other to strengthen their political and economic interests. Seemingly, no other area in the region will be better playground than Afghanistan for regional and international actors and the nest of terrorism. Over the past several years, there were many reports that certain country provides aerial and logistic supports to the extremist groups in Afghanistan.
Consequently, if we fail to make a compressive combating strategy against terrorists, there would be serious possibility that Afghanistan may once again go to throat of terrorist groups but this round it would be worse than what were witnessed in the past as Daesh terrorist group is more atrocious than other terrorist groups. If this happens,  the rest of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban will once again dominate larger parts of Afghanistan, and they will try to display their latest style of violence that have not shown in Syria and Iraq.