Dec 6, 2021
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has started a new phase in the war against the Islamic State. Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) is the local Afghan branch of Islamic State, which fought first the US-backed Afghan government and has continued to fight against the new Taliban government in the hope of creating a hardline Islamic caliphate. IS-KP has targeted Taliban fighters and officials, attacked economic infrastructure to prevent the government from providing services to the populace, and attempted to provoke a sectarian conflict by attacking religious minorities. On this episode of Overwatch, Afghanistan researcher Peter Mills discusses the origins, goals, numbers, and tactics of IS-KP, as well as their threat level to both Afghanistan and the US.