ISIS Khorasan (IS-K) has claimed responsibility for the explosion on Saturday evening in the Pul-e Sokhta area of Kabul city. The group stated that approximately 10 people, including Taliban members, were killed and injured as a result of a magnetic mine explosion on a passenger minibus. The Taliban confirmed the incident, stating that one person was killed and three others were wounded in the explosion of a magnetic mine on a passenger minibus. This marks ISIS’s first attack on Shia positions in Kabul in the new year. Thousands of Afghans and Shiites have expressed concern over the continuation of these attacks, describing the Taliban as unsuccessful in ensuring security. They argue that people are left defenseless and lack any authority to share their security concerns with. However, the former head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) stated that Afghanistan has become a gathering place for global terrorist groups, and regional countries are deeply concerned about the Taliban regime.
Following a relatively powerful explosion in the Pul-e Sokhta area, in Kabul’s Sixth Security District, the Taliban confirmed that the explosion of a magnetic mine on a Mercedes minibus resulted in the death of the driver and injuries to three civilians.
ISIS’s Khorasan branch has claimed responsibility for this explosion, stating that in an attack on a minibus carrying Shiites, 10 people, including Taliban members, were killed and injured.
Meanwhile, some Hazaras and other Shiites express concerns about the continuation of ISIS attacks, describing the Taliban as unsuccessful in ensuring people’s security. They argue that under this group’s rule, people have no refuge and are even afraid to raise their voices of suffering and pain due to fear of the Taliban.
Qanbar Ali, residing in Dasht-e Barchi, Kabul, lamented to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “We feel utterly helpless. No authority listens to our pleas. The relentless slaughter of Hazaras persists; today by ISIS, tomorrow by the Taliban, and perhaps another day by yet another group. It seems we, the people, are mere targets for terrorist groups.”
Javid, who has witnessed Taliban suicide attacks in western Kabul numerous times, said, “Who should stop these attacks? Power is currently in the hands of those who were Hazara killers until yesterday. If the Taliban truly can provide security and claim to have defeated ISIS, they should practically demonstrate it.”
However, Hussain Ali Adalat, a social media user, sees ISIS as an unknown and distorted address for the genocide of Hazaras. He wrote, “ISIS is an unknown, distorted, and cover-up address for the serial genocide of Hazaras. This cycle of violence, rooted in discrimination and hatred against Hazaras, has continued under various names for more than a hundred and thirty years. For many, ISIS is synonymous with the genocide of Hazaras.”
Yasin Rasouli, in response to ISIS’s actions, wrote, “After the bomb explosion in a passenger minibus in the Hazara-populated area of Kabul, proudly claimed by ISIS Khorasan, there was little solidarity heard. Hazaras and Shiites of Afghanistan don’t ask for much, just a voice standing beside them. Political groups and figures who condemn every small and large event on X (formerly Twitter) also remain silent, which sometimes seems meaningful and prepares the ground for the next attack.”
On the other hand, Arif Rahmani, a former member of the Afghan House of Representatives, has called for the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan to combat ISIS. He wrote, “Isn’t it time for the Afghanistan Freedom Fronts and the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan to initiate political, cultural, and military struggles against the Takfiri group of ISIS in addition to fighting against the ruling terrorists to end the genocide of Hazaras?”
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zia Saraj, the former director general of the National Directorate of Security of Afghanistan, recently stated that the reason for the spread of terrorist attacks in Iran, Pakistan, and regional countries is Afghanistan’s becoming a sanctuary and training center for various terrorist groups.
Mr. Saraj, speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the “Center for Freedom and Development” recently launched by some political and cultural figures in London, said that extremist Islamic groups, including Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, have converged in Afghanistan from various corners of the world, and the Taliban regime has become a major challenge for regional countries.
What Is ISIS Khorasan?
ISIS Khorasan was established in 2015 and operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. This group is an offshoot of ISIS, a terrorist organization that emerged in Syria and Iraq and controlled a significant portion of the territory of these two countries.
Five years after the fall of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the core elements of this group have spread worldwide, including in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. The exact relationship between ISIS Khorasan and its main branch is not fully clear, but both are affiliated with the same ideology.
The “Global Terrorism Index,” an annual publication of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) that seeks to measure the impact of terrorism worldwide, has stated: “ISIS has remained the deadliest terrorist group in the world for the ninth consecutive year and has recorded the highest number of attacks.”
Analysts have said that ISIS attacks earlier this year in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Russia indicate the group’s growing strength globally. At the height of its power, ISIS controlled a territory in the Middle East that was almost half the size of Great Britain and attracted tens of thousands of foreign fighters from dozens of countries worldwide.
This group aimed to intimidate civilians and recruit extremists thirsty for blood by disseminating videos of beheading war captives and burning them alive. ISIS continued to auction Yazidi women as slaves and servants.
Last month, ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in the city of Kandahar, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens. Despite the Taliban’s nearly three-year rule in Afghanistan, this group has continued to carry out dozens of terrorist attacks in the country, resulting in the deaths of hundreds, most of whom were Shiites and Hazaras.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, ISIS Khorasan has attracted global attention. In the early days of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, the group carried out a deadly attack at Kabul Airport’s gate, resulting in the deaths of 170 people, including 13 American soldiers.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
حمله داعش در پل سوخته کابل؛ شهروندان: در بیپناهی مطلق به سر میبریم
