Moscow Concert Hall Shooting
What We Know How the Attack Unfolded Photos Victims A Scene of Chaos and Terror What Is ISIS-K?
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ISIS Branch Blamed in Moscow Attack Has Hit at Taliban’s Russia Links Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, previously attacked Russia’s embassy in Kabul and has produced floods of anti-Kremlin propaganda.
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A member of the Taliban inspected the scene of an operation against militants from the Islamic State Khorasan on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2021.Credit...EPA, via Shutterstock
By Christina Goldbaum
March 23, 2024
The ISIS affiliate that American officials say was behind the deadly attack in Moscow is one of the last significant antagonists that the Taliban government faces in Afghanistan, and it has carried out repeated attacks there, including on the Russian Embassy, in recent years.
That branch of ISIS — known as the Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K — has portrayed itself as the primary rival to the Taliban, who it says have not implemented true Shariah law since seizing power in 2021. It has sought to undermine the Taliban’s relationships with regional allies and portray the government as unable to provide security in the country, experts say.
In 2022, ISIS-K carried out attacks on the Russian and Pakistani embassies in Kabul and a hotel that was home to many Chinese nationals. More recently, it has also threatened attacks against the Chinese, Indian and Iranian embassies in Afghanistan and has released a flood of anti-Russian propaganda.
It has also struck outside Afghanistan. In January, ISIS-K carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed scores and wounded hundreds of others at a memorial service for Iran’s former top general, Qassim Suleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike four years before.
In recent months, the Taliban’s relationship with Russia, as well as China and Iran, has warmed up. While no country has officially recognized the Taliban government, earlier this month Russia accepted a military attaché from the Taliban in Moscow, while China officially accepted a Taliban ambassador to the country. Both moves were seen as confidence-building measures with Taliban authorities.
ISIS-K has both denounced the Kremlin for its interventions in Syria and condemned the Taliban for engaging with Russian authorities decades after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
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Christina Goldbaum is the Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief for The Times. More about Christina Goldbaum
A version of this article appears in print on March 24, 2024, Section A, Page 10 of the New York edition with the headline: ISIS Branch Tied to Strike In Moscow Grows Bolder. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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