The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.
Shia Muslims have been persecuted by the Islamic State (IS), an Islamist terrorist group, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the world.
On 8 March 2017, the Sardar Daud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, was attacked by a group of gunmen, some of them dressed in white hospital robes. Government officials confirmed at least 49 people were killed in the hours-long assault, while 63 others were injured. By March 13 the unconfirmed death toll had surpassed 100, with an unknown number injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed to have carried out the attack, but officials suspected the Haqqani network instead.
The December 2017 Kabul suicide bombing occurred on 28 December 2017, when militants attacked a Shiite cultural centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. The attack killed 50 people and injured over 80.
On 24 January 2018, militants affiliated with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province launched a bomb and gun attack on a Save the Children office in Jalalabad, a city in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, killing six people and injuring 27.
The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency waged by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.
On 17 August 2019, a suicide bombing took place during a wedding in a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 92 people were killed in the attack and over 140 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the attack targeted the Shi'ites. More than 1,000 people were gathered for the wedding when the attack took place. The attack occurred a day before the 100th Afghan Independence Day, causing the government to postpone the planned celebrations taking place at the Darul Aman Palace. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since January 2018.
Events in the year 2020 in Afghanistan.
On 25 March 2020, ISIS gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In May 2020, a series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan, starting with the Taliban killing 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari, Balkh and Grishk, Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the death of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for the funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the maternity ward shooting.
The November 2020 Afghanistan attacks were multiple attacks launched by insurgents including the Taliban and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province in November 2020. The attacks left at least 88 people dead and more than 193 injured.
On 2 November 2020, three gunmen stormed the campus of Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 32 people and wounding 50 others. The attack began around the time that government officials were expected to arrive at the campus for the opening of an Iranian book fair. The three gunmen were later killed during an exchange of fire with the security forces. The attack occurred at around 11:00 A.M. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) claimed responsibility.
On 2 November 2021, a major insurgent attack at the Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least 25 people.
This is a timeline of ISIL-related events that occurred in the year 2020.
On 12 December 2022, insurgents attacked a hotel popular with foreigners in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 3 civilians were killed and 18 others, including foreigners, were reported to be injured. Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 1 January 2023, a bombing at a checkpoint outside the military airport in Kabul, located about 200 metres from the civilian Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan killed and injured several people. The following day, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing on Telegram, claiming to have killed 20 people and injured 30. The Taliban-run ministry of interior denied those numbers, saying it would be releasing an official toll.
