KABUL: The Islamic State group in Afghanistan is inviting Muslims worldwideto come to the war-torn country if they cannot reach Syria or Iraq, as itseeks to expand its foothold.A 25-minute propaganda film released by the (IS-K) on March 4 promotes ISstrongholds in Afghanistan’s north and east as an “option for immigration”,the SITE Intelligence Group said Tuesday.
“O you Muslims in every corner of the world! Immigrate to Khorasan! If youare incapable of immigrating to Iraq and Sham (Syria), come to Khorasan,” afighter said on the video.
The name Khorasan refers to a historic region which includes parts ofmodern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighbouring countries.
The video comes amid growing concerns that IS fighters fleeing battlefieldsin Syria and Iraq are finding their way to Afghanistan, where the group hasa small but potent presence.
AFP recently reported that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving fromSyria, had joined IS in the northern Afghan province of Jowzjan.
A German national was also recently arrested with the Taliban in therestive southern province of Helmand, Afghan officials said last week. Heis one of the only Europeans found among the militants throughout the16-year war.
The IS video published with an Arabic narration showed some fightersdelivering messages in Pashto, Persian and Uzbek languages.
It opens with a narration mocking US President Donald Trump vow to destroythe group in Afghanistan and goes on to show executions of prisoners andthe training of child soldiers.
IS-K was attempting to turn “rumours” of foreign fighters moving toAfghanistan from Syria “into reality”, Borhan Osman, a senior analyst atInternational Crisis Group, told AFP.
But the group would struggle to persuade fighters to travel as far asAfghanistan, said Emily Winterbotham, a senior research fellow at theUK-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
“It’s trying to keep IS-K viable and the IS-K brand going, but the realityis Afghanistan is still a long way away from Syria and Iraq — it’s not aneasy journey,” she said.
The Islamic State group, or Daesh as it is locally known, first emerged inAfghanistan in 2014 as NATO combat troops withdrew from the country andhanded over responsibility to Afghan security forces.
Since then, the group has carried out multiple attacks mostly in urbanareas, killing hundreds of people across the country despite a US-ledbombing campaign against their known hideouts.
Since 2016 it has dramatically escalated its attacks in Kabul, adding tothe dangers already faced by civilians, with the UN citing the capital asone of the deadliest places in the country. – APP/AFP