According to sources, around 25 Taliban affiliates were killed in a fierce gun battle with Islamic State Khorasan affiliates in the Mamand area of Achin District, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Achin district has a long-standing ISKP presence and is one of the group's strongholds. The region saw intense clashes between the ISKP and Taliban since the inception of the Islamic State in 2015. The group drew significant manpower from the district.
The district saw a significant surge in ISKP activity following the Afghan Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, with a record 181 incidents in the same year out of total 353 ISKP related attacks. The recent attacks demonstrate the surge in ISKP activity in the province. Furthermore, some of the areas, such as Achin, seem to be a no-go area for the Afghan Taliban as they get frequently targeted by VBIEDs, such as in August 2024 in Darai Nur District, when ISKP targeted an Afghan Taliban vehicle in a VBIED attack.
The Afghan Taliban put forward the narrative of civilian casualties, denying that their men were killed. This is not something new, as ISKP conducted high-profile attacks such as the targeted killing of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s uncle, Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, in a suicide bombing on December 11, 2024. However, counter terrorism experts noted that this kind of attack can be attributed to the longstanding factionalism within the Afghan Taliban, and Hibatullah seems to be using some elements of ISKP for the assassination of rivals without directly clashing with them. Not just ISKP, but Al Qaida also maintains a presence in the mountains of Nangarhar under the protection of the Afghan Taliban regime, and secondly, no major offensive was launched against ISKP in the region, indicating a level of support by the Taliban regime, as ISKP contains a large number of TTP and Al Qaida elements.
According to a source, the Taliban seem to be okay with ISKP if the group accepts their terms and operates in a way like the other Taliban groups such as TTP and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. Considering the growing ISKP footprints in Afghanistan, it carries significant implications for the region and beyond. According to the latest UN report, ISIL-K was in a rebuilding phase and conducting high-profile attacks. Moreover, the report noted that the threat facing Pakistan from Afghanistan is becoming more complex, with the TTP retaining Taliban ideological and logistical support, Al Qaeda providing training and ideological backing, and ISIL-K and the BLA benefiting from overlapping facilitation networks. The report also noted a significant surge in cross-border terror attacks by the ISKP in Pakistan.
