Who are the ISIS-K and why the attack on Russia?

For the first time in twenty years, Russia was the target of a lethal strike. More than 140 people were injured and over 100 people died as a result of the music theatre in Moscow catching fire and going into spiral firing. There are reports that ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the incident.

But who are the ISIS-K?

ISIS-K stands for ISIS-Khorasan. It is the affiliate of the terrorist group, Salafi jihadist, operating in Afghanistan and the neighbouring areas.

Formed in late 2014 in eastern Afghanistan, the name comes from a historical designation for the area that includes parts of Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. It immediately gained a reputation for severe cruelty.

In order to establish a Caliphate in South and Central Asia that will be ruled by a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law and eventually expand outside the region, ISIS-K aims to destabilise, topple, and replace current governments in the historically significant Khorasan region.

ISIS intends to expand its external operations well beyond its borders. European counterterrorism agencies claim to have foiled multiple ISIS-K attempts to attack targets in Europe in recent months.

ISIS-K was the fourth-deadliest terror group in the world as of 2018, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which keeps track of international terrorism.

By 2021, the group’s numbers had been nearly halved, to between 1,500 and 2,000 militants, as a result of Afghan commando operations and American airstrikes that killed many of the group’s leaders.

Who are their victims?

ISIS-K has a track record of attacking targets both inside and outside of Afghanistan, including mosques.

Twin explosions in Iran killed up to 100 individuals, earlier this year. The attack pointed to ISIS-K after an intercepted communications by the U.S.

There were other attacks in May 2020 that killed 24 people in a maternity unit in Kabul and in November 2020 that killed 22 people at Kabul University.

At least 85 people were killed in a horrifying vehicle bombing outside a girls’ high school in May 2021, which was also thought to be the work of ISIS-K.

ISIS-K militants took credit for a deadly suicide bombing against the Russian embassy in Kabul in September 2022.

Again, the group was most active in the months leading up to 2018, when one of the deadliest assaults in history occurred during an election rally in Mastung, Pakistan, when an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 128 people.

Why did they target Russia?

Political analysts assert that ISIS-K has spent the last two years criticising Russia and that the group often attacked President Vladimir V. Putin in its propaganda.

When Russia was at war with rebels in Chechnya in the early 2000s, the nation was rocked by a string of horrific terror attacks.

According to the ISIS-K, Kremlin has “Muslim blood” in its hands after its involvement in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria.

CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, also mentioned that there are further grievances from the past. Russia has long been the target of ISIS propaganda due to its harsh tactics in the Chechen conflicts and its harsh policies in the Caucasus that have an adverse effect on Muslims in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.