Islamic State group menace rebounds in Afghanistan

More than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US servicemen were killed in the August 26 attack on Kabul airport -- the deadliest violence against US forces in Afghanistan since 2011

The Taliban had barely completed their takeover of the Afghan capital Kabul when the local affiliate of the Islamic State group struck, sowing mayhem with a bloody airport attack.

It was a symbolic strike for the jihadist organization, highlighting its longevity and sparking concern in the West.

It was also the bloodiest attack against the US claimed by an IS group affiliate, namely the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K), coming at an acutely sensitive moment for the withdrawing forces.

The bloody carnage in the French capital marked the peak of the group's so-called "caliphate" which straddled Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2019.

The resurgence of IS in Afghanistan now looks set to inspire radical jihadists of all stripes.

"Western intelligence agencies should already be on high alert given the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, always a period for inspired attacks, and the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan, "Katherine Zimmerman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, told AFP.

Since the collapse of the so-called caliphate following a multinational military assault, the jihadist threat has shifted considerably with IS now probably lacking the capacity to strike in the heart of Europe as in 2015, analysts told AFP.

Western intelligence agencies from Langley to Whitehall to Auckland have proved unable to eradicate the threat of lone-wolf attackers, radicalized online, who strike with improvised weapons such as knives or vehicles.

The IS attack on Kabul airport was all the more shocking because it succeeded despite US President Joe Biden's specific prior warning that intelligence agencies were aware of the plot.

- 'Terror threat could grow' -
IS sympathizers were quick to capitalize on the attack and its aftermath.

IS-K has become the fourth most active Islamic State group affiliate globally since the start of the year, according to an expert on the organization known on Twitter only as Mr. Q.

Former US diplomat James Jeffrey said that IS began training jihadists for similar attacks outside Iraq and Syria, and possibly beyond the Middle East, between 2019 and 2020.

Western governments are now warning against complacency.

Following the attack on US forces in Kabul, and after US forces killed just three IS fighters, Biden pointedly told the group: "We are not done with you".

Source: AFP