ISIS Attacks Taliban Fighters

On Tuesday, July 17^th, suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked and killed Taliban fighters that were attending a funeral in northern Afghanistan. The death toll in this latest clash between the two violent rival groups was 15 individuals to date. There was neither an immediate claim of responsibility by the Islamic State for the attacks nor comment from the Taliban regarding the terror incident.

Last month the Taliban launched attacks against ISIS fighters in the regions of Kunar and Laghman, clearing out bases that ISIS fighters had been occupying. The incidents within these regions came in the wake of an attack by the ISIS branch, Islamic State of Khorasan. At least 25 people were killed in that attack during the Eid ceasefire at the end of June.

The Islamic State of Khorasan arrived in Afghanistan in early 2015 when some existing militants swore allegiance to ISIS.  ISIS has used districts within the provincial region of Nangarhar as its main base of operations. Recent attacks carried out by ISIS include bombings in Jalalabad, and a blast at a security checkpoint in the Jalula area of Diyala that killed at least 10 people. ISIS has increased its footprint within the country of Afghanistan even though the groups’ caliphate in Syria and Iraq has largely been destroyed. The Islamic State of Khorasan is now one of the main focal points of the US counterterrorism operation within Afghanistan.

The two Islamic extremist groups have been fighting on and off over the last few years in Afghanistan, battling over territory and recruits there. The Taliban rejects the caliphate that ISIS is attempting to establish within Afghanistan. This was in response to ISIS proclaiming their leader to be the “caliph” or head of the state. Taliban officials in both Afghanistan and Pakistan said that mirrored Afghan Taliban officials, that Baghdadi is not Khalifa due to the fact that he does not have command over the entirety of the Muslim world.

Despite the fact that the Taliban are an Islamist terror organization, they draw their legitimacy not from the Islamic creed but from ethnic populations and a nationalistic base within the country of Afghanistan.  The Taliban want to establish an Afghan state under the rule of Islamic law. ISIS, however, wants to establish an Caliphate encompassing the greater Middle East and ultimately the entirety Islamic world.

The U.S. Military supports the Afghan forces in fighting both ISIS and the Taliban. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States supports potential peace talks with the Taliban. The talks would be Afghan led with the United States serving in an advisory capacity, and they would ultimately seek to achieve the goal of ending the conflict in Afghanistan.