“Focused on Russia”
What does the IS offshoot Khorasan stand for?
March 23, 2024, 7:13 p.m
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More than 130 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. The IS offshoot Khorasan is responsible for the bloodbath. According to an expert, the terrorist group has been fixating on Russia a while ago.
The US secret services classify the letters of responsibility from an offshoot of the extremist militia Islamic State (IS) for the attack on the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow as genuine. The IS militia confirmed that it was behind the attack, which, according to authorities, killed more than 130 people. She published a photo that is said to show the four attackers.
The attack is related to the “war” between the Islamic State and the countries that fight Islam, the Amak news agency, the mouthpiece of the IS militia, said on the short message service Telegram. The Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K) appears to be responsible. Just two weeks ago, the US Embassy warned Russia that extremists were working on plans for an imminent attack. But what is the terrorist group fighting for?
Enemies with the Taliban
The Islamic State of Khorasan, named after an old name for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, first emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014. The group quickly became notorious for its extreme brutality. She is enemies with the radical Islamic Taliban ruling Afghanistan, whom she accuses of representing an overly moderate version of Islam. According to US intelligence, many former Taliban fighters have joined the even more radical group. ISIS-K seeks a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
As one of the most active regional IS affiliates, ISIS-K reached the peak of its strength in 2018. Since then, the extremist group has seen a decline in membership. Also because the Taliban and the US armed forces inflicted heavy losses on it. However, the United States has also said that since the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, it has become less able to gather intelligence on extremist groups there, such as ISIS-K.
FSB: Attack on synagogue in Moscow prevented
In the past, ISIS-K has carried out attacks in Afghanistan but also outside of it, including on mosques. Earlier this year, the US intercepted messages confirming the group was behind a devastating bombing in Iran. Almost 100 people were killed in the suicide attack on a memorial event in the city of Kerman in honor of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed four years ago. Just two weeks ago, the Russian domestic secret service FSB said it had thwarted an attack by ISIS-K on a Moscow synagogue.
Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015 to support President Bashar al-Assad against the opposition, but also against the IS militia. If it turns out that Friday’s attack in Moscow was attributable to ISIS-K, it would be a dramatic escalation. But according to experts, the extremist group has increasingly opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years. “ISIS-K has focused on Russia over the past two years and has frequently targeted Putin in its propaganda,” says Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center, a New York-based research group.
Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington points out that ISIS-K “sees Russia as an accomplice in activities that regularly oppress Muslims.” The group also counts among its members a number of fighters from Muslim-dominated states in Central Asia, such as the ex-Soviet republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who have their own resentments towards the leadership in Moscow. According to a Russian MP, passports from Tajikistan were found in the suspected assassins’ getaway car.