Islamabad: Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K), which has claimed responsibility for recent bombings in Kabul, has been locked in a bloody battle with the Taliban for some time in the Afghanistan region that limits Pakistan.
What is K? The terror organization initially appeared in Pakistan in 2015 as a group of young Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), conglomerate from several militant groups.
The military offensial to TTP in northwest Pakistan has forced them to cross to Afghanistan, where they promised loyal to the Islamic state (is) and then the head, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, in 2014.
Since then, the group has absorbed terrorists to their network and have announced expansion to Central Asia as IS-K.
When at its height in Iraq and Syria, he reportedly provided funds to his regional affiliates in Afghanistan.
The support has dried far earlier but leadership in Syria and Iraq remains in touch with IS-K.
The name of Khorasan translates to “solar land.” Khorasan refers to the historical region that includes Iranian parts, Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the center of strategic and international studies, NYT reports.
Before the explosion Thursday, there was a report that the Taliban had intercepted and opened fire on several IS-K fighters at their checkpoint around Kabul Airport.
A few hours later, at least 28 Taliban fighters were among the more than 100 people who were injured in an explosion outside Kabul Airport.
How-k and Taliban are different? Two militant groups are separated by ideological differences.
Is-k, is considered the most extreme and violent of all groups of jihadist militants in Afghanistan, following the Islamic salafist movement, while the Taliban obeyed the school of Deobandi thought.
Taliban, at least for now, wants to establish the Islamic Emirates in Afghanistan.
Is-k, however, strives to build a Caliphate in South and Central Asia and then take their holy war (jihad) against non-Muslims and their Muslim supporters to other parts of the world.
Who is the Is-K enemy? Is-K claims that the Taliban have betrayed the cause of the jihad by making a peace agreement with the US and oath to continue their struggle in Afghanistan.
Isis-k fights with other extremist Islamic organizations, such as the Taliban.
Isis-k has done most antagonists towards the Taliban, and both groups have struggled for grass, especially in the eastern report of Afghanistan, NYT.
Since 2017, experts say ISIS-K has been responsible for around 250 clashes with US security forces, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Recently, ISIS-K leaders have condemned the takeover of the Taliban Afghanistan, said that the version of the group of Islam the group was not hard enough.
How many men owned is-k? There are different claims on the number of IS-K fighters in Afghanistan.
Previously, it was claimed that the group had less than 2,000 fighters in this country.
Then, when the Taliban began negotiations with the US in Doha, many Taliban fighters and TTP hardcore joined their staff.
In 2016, a year after establishing, Isis-K was at a peak size, with around 3,000 to 4,000 fighters, according to analyst estimates.
The number was cut into two after the group was targeted by American air strikes and Afghan command attacks, according to NYT.
The first-k battle against the Taliban has occurred in 2017, when they drove the Taliban from Tora Bora, a mountainous area where the founder of Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden had been shelter to escape from American air strikes after the September 11, 2001 attacks on us.
The area, however, was immediately arrested again by the Taliban, but both parties had put out the enemy since then.
In May this year, Taliban guerrillas had joined US and Afghan government forces in driving Is-K from the northeastern part of Afghanistan.
What has done-k? Until the end, the group was busy in front of the terror and had done dozens of deadly attacks in Afghanistan in recent years.
In May the group received responsibility for the attack on Kabul School which was attended, especially by Shiite girls who killed 85 people and more than 300 injured.
In June, Militan Is-K has ambushed and killed 10 people who worked with anti-land NGOs in Baghlan Province, North Afghanistan.
Last year, was a shooting fighters a number of pregnant women, nurses, and babies at the Maternity Hospital in Kabul.
(With input from NYT)