IS in Afghanistan: A Divisive Force To Watch

The recent fresh attacks waged by Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan manifest the group’s potency in the Afghan theatre and reverse the perception that IS has been crushed in the country.

When the Islamic State (IS) emerged in late 2014, it took on an ambitious campaign in Afghanistan as it did in Iraq and Syria. The group embarked on a strategy of waging military operations on multiple fronts and strived to repeat the breakthroughs it secured in the Middle East. IS failed in that strategy miserably – not able to seize any major cities and wide swaths of territory.IS, however, has been able to split terrorist groups, shatter alliances between local and foreign terrorists and divert the attention of the Afghan government on the Taliban in Afghanistan.The recent fresh attacks waged by Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan manifest the group’s potency in the Afghan theatre and reverse the perception that IS has been crushed in the country.