ISKP

The Islamic State sees great opportunity in the churn of great power competition, with ISKP at the forefront of its vision of international jihad.

Military means alone are not enough to fight the group; to debunk its powerful propaganda claims, robust counternarratives are needed especially on social media.

In striking a Pakistani target in Taliban territory, ISKP is harming its two primary battlefield enemies at once.

Evidence suggests that ISKP’s tentacles have begun spreading across West, Central, and South Asia.

The Islamic State movement -- including its Afghanistan iteration -- is vehemently anti-Russia in orientation, criticizing its foreign and domestic policies.

The expansion of ISKP propaganda outreach, recruitment, and fundraising efforts may have significant security implications for countries in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and possibly beyond. 

The Taliban promised, again, that Afghan soil would not be used to threaten the security of neighboring countries a day after five rockets landed in an Uzbek border town.

Can anything be done to help the Hazaras in Afghanistan? 

ISKP’s expanded media campaign seeks to recruit ethnic Tajik and nationals as well as incite militant violence against Tajikistan.

Since sweeping to power last August, the Taliban have been battling the upstart Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast at a mosque packed with Shiites in Kunduz but the Islamic State has long targeted the community.