Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) has given itself the name Khorasan as that was part of a historical area spanning parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian countries.
The group, which was established in 2014 by disaffected members of the Pakistani Taliban, is waging an insurgency against the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan, which it opposes on ideological grounds.
Under the leadership of Sanaullah Ghafari, the group has transformed itself into one of the most fearsome branches of the global Islamist network, capable of operations far from its bases in the borderlands of Afghanistan.
The U.S. has said its ability to develop intelligence against extremist groups in Afghanistan, such as ISIS-K, has been reduced since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2021.
ISIS-K grievances against Moscow include the brutal wars in Chechnya, the intervention in Syria against ISIS, and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
