While the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall northwest of Moscow was still ongoing, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack which left at least 133 dead and 121 injured. The Afghan branch of ISIS is the main suspect in this attack, according to American security sources cited by the New York Times. The Islamic State of Khorasan, known as “EI-K,” was founded in 2015 and is considered the “bloodiest in Afghanistan,” according to a note published in 2021 by the French Institute of International Relations ( IFRI). It is currently unknown whether the four alleged attackers – among the 11 people arrested in Russia – are affiliated with the terrorist group.
American intelligence had collected evidence indicating that the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K) was preparing an attack in Moscow: “Early this month, the US government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow, potentially targeting large gatherings, including concerts, and Washington shared this information with Russian authorities,” said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
EI-K is believed to have emerged from a split within the Pakistani Taliban. The jihadists forming this group then “adopted a more violent version of Islam,” specifies the New York Times, citing American security sources. Khorasan, which in Persian means “where the sun comes from”, is the medieval name of Afghanistan which then included part of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. According to Reuters, these jihadists are renowned for their “extreme brutality”.
After a period of tranquility, the terrorist group is once again increasing “external attacks,” according to American counterterrorism officials cited by the New York Times. “EI-K has established itself as the most internationally oriented branch of IS. It has produced propaganda in more languages than any other subsidiary since the height of the (self-proclaimed) caliphate in Iraq and Syria,” adds Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist site Militant Wire, to AFP. And added: “This international vision includes an ambitious and aggressive campaign to strengthen its external operational capabilities and strike its various enemies abroad.” The New York Times recalls that “most of their terrorist projects in Europe were foiled, leading to estimates that the group had reduced capabilities.”
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But Russia is now in the group’s sights. “IS-K has been fixated on Russia for two years, frequently criticizing President Vladimir Putin in its propaganda,” Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in Washington, told the American newspaper. New York. “IS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood on its hands, in reference to Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.” For Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, based in Washington and cited by Reuters, EI-K “considers Russia to be complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims.”
This group of jihadists is mainly known for being behind the attack on Kabul international airport in August 2021, in the midst of the overthrow of the Afghan government by the Taliban. This attack cost the deaths of 13 American soldiers and up to 170 civilians. Since then, the Taliban have waged a battle against these jihadists in Afghanistan. One of the group’s leaders, and mastermind of the attack, was killed by the Taliban in April 2023. Afghan leaders prevented the EI-K jihadists from “seizing territory or recruiting a large number of former Taliban fighters who were bored in peacetime – one of the worst scenarios envisaged after the collapse of the Afghan government supported by the West”, recalls the New York Times.
Most recently, Islamic State Khorasan claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, during a memorial procession for Major General Qassem Soleimani. In September 2022, EI-K militants also claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide attack against the Russian embassy in Kabul.
After the creation of the group in 2015, one of its most active regional subsidiaries saw the number of its members decrease around 2018. The Taliban and American forces inflicted heavy losses on them, contextualizes Reuters. But the United States recently said its ability to develop intelligence against extremist groups in Afghanistan such as ISIS has been reduced since the withdrawal of American troops from the country in 2021.
EI-K nevertheless remains in the sights of Western authorities. The Germans arrested two suspected Afghan jihadists last Tuesday, suspected of having prepared an attack near the Swedish parliament, in a context of high terrorist threat in the Scandinavian country after the Koran burnings. One of them would have joined EI-K from Germany, recalls AFP. But several networks had previously been dismantled in Europe, notably a first Russian-Tajik network in Germany in 2020. Others had suffered the same fate in 2022 and 2023.
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On March 7, Russian authorities claimed to have killed suspected EI-K members during an operation in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, accusing them of having prepared an attack against a synagogue. of the capital. Kazakhstan confirmed the death of two of its citizens in the operation.
