What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Islamic State of Khurasan Province (ISKP), has emerged as the “most globally ambitious and active branch in both its operations and propaganda of all radical Islamic groups.” The terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia took place on March 22, 2024. More than 130 people were killed and about 180 people wounded told Aljazeera of 23 March 2024. ISIL’s Afghan branch – also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) – claimed responsibility for the attack and United States officials had confirmed the authenticity of that claim, according to the Reuters news agency.
Encouraged by the brutal Crocus City Hall attack, ISKP published posters on social media sites in Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, and other languages issuing a ‘threat to all brutal Russians, including Putin.’ It vowed, “You will be massacred all together with your women and children” as revenge for the torture of prisoners.” In the April issue of its flagship Voice of Khurasan magazine, titled “The Bear Bewildered,” ISKP boasted about the operation’s success, praised past attacks in Russia and the West, and directed supporters to commit further acts of violence.
Again, an ISKP suicide bombing in the Iranian city of Kerman in January 2024 left about 100 persons dead and 284 injured. One Tajik national is reported to have been involved in this bombing conspiracy. For some time, Moscow has been somewhat unhappy over the increase in jihadist activities by the religious extremists in the two Central Asian States of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. As a consequence, Moscow has tightened immigration rules for the Uzbek and Tajik nationals. This has squeezed foreign remittances to these two states whose thousands of workers would come to Russia for work and living.
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ISKP is now aspiring for a wider field of activity, especially in the two Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, both of which were affected earlier by the impact of the rising crescendo of Islamic resurgence. Some persons rounded up in Moscow as suspected terrorists of the Crocus attack included one of Tajik nationality.
In a despatch, Central Asian News and Opinions summarised the ISKP adventures as this: “ISKP is presently implementing a regionalization and internationalization strategy that has increasingly focused on extending its reach into Central Asia, as well as appealing to associated diaspora elements elsewhere, especially in Russia. The movement’s Central Asian contingent has accounted for a notable share of ISKP-linked activity outside of Afghanistan, but a rising number of instances of terrorist activity are more recently involving Russian nationals, Chechens, and others from its Caucasus region. Jihadism expert Aaron Zelin’s dataset found ISKP to be linked to 12 plots in 2023 and 19 thus far into 2024 – targeting Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, India, Iran, and Turkey.”
The Caucasus is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Chechnya and parts of Southern Russia. Some of these states are predominantly Muslim and the Muslim population of Chechnya stubbornly fought against Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. These States have been under the influence of Russia and their foreign policy by and large was the extension of Russian perception. The ISKP is wary of Russian influence still permeating these regions. According to the ideology of ISKP, this entire region once constituted the Islamic Caliphate, an entity which they want to revive.
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ISKP often assails Russia’s historical legacy of repressive action against Muslims, as well as its current security and diplomatic engagements in predominantly Muslim countries. In February 2023, for instance, Al-Azaim reminded its supporters about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the bloody wars in Chechnya, and its ongoing military intervention in Syria. Other stated grievances in its propaganda include Moscow’s contemporary influence in Central Asia, its engagement with private military companies and an armed footprint across Africa, where it is directly fighting the Islamic State in multiple conflict arenas. ISKP also is critical of the Kremlin’s close ties with Iran and China. Jihadism expert Riccardo Valle noted how “Al-Azaim Russia has intermittently praised or eulogized militants from the Caucasus region, such as Abdul Karim al-Ingush, a militant killed in March 2024 in the Karabulak area.”
Azerbaijan, the Trans-Caspian Central Asian state has a mixed population of Sunnis and Shias. Iran has much influence among the Shia population, especially in the port areas of the Caspian Sea. Because the Azerbaijanis mostly claim to be of Turkic ethnic lineage, Erdogan of Turkey has been evincing a keen interest in the affairs of Azerbaijan. This State is also strategically located as the gateway to Eastern and Western Europe. Turkey played an important role in giving immense support to Azerbaijan in its war against Armenian a state with a predominantly Christian Nestorian population.
In ISKP’s latest strategy, the entire Caucasus region is a fertile ground for jihadist activities. The apprehension is that this jihadist movement is likely to expand its tenterhooks in a bid to erase the traces of Russian culture and ethos and include them in the traditional Islamic Caliphate of the Middle Ages.
The writer is the former Director of the Centre of Central Asian Studies, Kashmir University, Srinagar.
