Taliban-Haqqani cocktail: Looming threat to India | Economic Times

India is in close touch with major international partners to evaluate the security situation in Afghanistan following Thursday’s deadly terror attacks that could be a handiwork of ISI-backed Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K.According to persons familiar with the developments, terror groups are getting active in Afghanistan after Taliban’s takeover. IS-K — Islamic State Khorasan Province — is the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group. It is the most extreme and violent of all the terror groups in Afghanistan. IS-K was set up in January 2015 at the height of IS’s power in Iraq and Syria.There are strong links between IS-K and the pro-Pak Haqqani network, which is closely linked to the Taliban. The man now in charge of security in Kabul is Khalil Haqqani, who carries a $5m (£3.6m) bounty on his head. Several major attacks between 2019 and 2021 involved collaboration between IS-K, the Taliban’s Haqqani network and other terror groups based in Pakistan.Former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh tweeted: “Every evidence we have in hand shows that IS-K cells have their roots in Talibs & Haqqani network particularly the ones operating in Kabul. Talibs denying links with ISIS is identical/similar to denial of Pak on Quetta Shura.” He said “Talibs have learned very well from the master”. IS-K recruits both Afghan and Pakistani jihadists, especially defecting members of the Afghan Taliban who don’t see their own organisation as extreme enough, according to a BBC report. “Khorasan” refers to a historical region covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The group initially included Pakistan until a separate Pakistan section was declared in May 2019. At its height the group numbered about 3,000 fighters.IS-K are based in the eastern province of Nangarhar, close to drug and people-smuggling routes in and out of Pakistan. While most of its activities have been in Nangarhar and Kabul, it has also claimed attacks in the provinces of Kunar, Jowzjan, Paktia, Kunduz and Herat, according to the BBC report.