Islamist Terrorist Opponents
"[Taliban forces far outnumber Isis militants and experts doubt the extremist group poses an existential threat to Afghanistan’s new rulers. But if the bombings continue] it could become a large problem.""It’s impacting people’s perceptions. If the Taliban can’t make good on their promise on securing the country, that could turn the tide of public sentiment against them in the east."Franz Marty, Kabul-based fellow, Swiss Institute for Global Affairs"We live in poverty and we don’t have security, either.""Today, my son lost his life, tomorrow others’ sons will lose their lives."Zarif Khen, Jalalabad"We thought that since the Taliban have come, peace will come.""But there’s no peace, no security. ""You can’t hear anything except the news of bomb blasts killing this one or that."Feda Mohammad, Jalabad, Afghanistan"People have no jobs, people sell their carpets to buy flour …""Still there are explosions and [ISIS] claims the attacks."Abdullah, Jalabad"They’re making a very dramatic comeback.""There could be a long-term struggle between the groups."Ibraheem Bahiss, International Crisis Group consultant, independent research analyst
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| Taliban and Afghan civilians gather at the site of a bomb explosion in Jalalabad on Sunday. Photo: AFP |
Sunday a series of explosions took place in east Afghanistan killing a number of people, injuring others. Yet another escalation of violence, marring the Taliban efforts to firm up its control of the country. Afghanistan has no shortage of terrorist groups. While the Taliban are fundamentalist Islamists whose sharia values punt them into the terrorist camp, they are denigrated by the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) as lacking the kind of Islamist extremism that the ISIS group exemplifies; sham Islamists, unfit to hold a country to true Islam.
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| A Taliban terrorist in Herat, Afghanistan. Photo: AFP |
And while excoriating the Taliban as faux Islamists, to bring home their point the ISIS-K group plans and executes violence against both the Taliban and ordinary Afghan civilians as well as minority groups in demonstrations of just how powerful they are as avengers of Islam. Improvised explosive devices were set off Saturday and Sunday around the capital of the eastern province of Nangahar, the city of Jalalabad. Which city is known as an Islamic State-Khorasan stronghold.
Its Amaq News Agency reported six attacks Saturday and Sunday as great accomplishments in succeeding in killing or injuring over 35 Taliban, according to Reuters. Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi spoke of a bombing in Jalalabad on Sunday which targeted a Taliban vehicle, and where a child was killed and two people injured, one a member of the Taliban. "We have started investigations into the incident to reach the culprits", he said.
Three residents however, speaking anonymously fearing retribution by the Taliban, spoke of three civilians killed including a child and scores of others injured in the attack The blast knocking down a major power line. A series of explosions took place on Saturday where one resident explained four people died and 22 were injured in five separate incidents in the city.
A more celebrated explosive event for ISIS-K was the August 26 Kabul airport attack where 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American forces were killed in the chaos of the U.S. military withdrawal. Since the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country pockets of public opposition have erupted, including a resistance movement in Panjshir province and women opposing the Taliban gender-based restrictions mounting street protests.
The political vacuum in the wake of Afghanistan's Western-backed government has been seen to embolden ISIS-K, according to warnings issued by analysts. A best-case scenario for those looking in from abroad would be seen as the Taliban and ISIS warring against one another, each reducing the other's numbers. Reality is the Afghan population is caught as hostages between the two warring parties. Another reality is that some disaffected Taliban abandon them to join the more extreme terrorist ISIS group.
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| A suspected Isis member sits blindfolded in a Taliban special forces vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters |
Labels: Afghanistan, Conflict, ISIS-K, Taliban
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, September 21, 2021
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