List of terrorist incidents linked to Islamic State – Khorasan Province

The following is a list of terrorist attacks that have been attributed to or claimed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province.

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K) is a regional branch of the Islamic State terrorist group active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan. ISIS–K, like its sister branches in other regions, seeks to destabilize and overthrow existing governments of the historic Khorasan region to establish an Islamic caliphate under its strict, fundamentalist Islamist rule.

ISIS–K has conducted numerous high-profile attacks against civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Some of its most notable attacks include a suicide bombing in August 2021 that killed 13 American military personnel and least 169 Afghans in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from the country, twin suicide bombings in July 2018 that killed at least 131 at election rallies in Pakistan, and twin bombings in July 2016 that killed 97 Hazara protestors in downtown Kabul.

ISIS–K began with the dispatch of Afghan and Pakistani militants from al-Qaeda-aligned groups to the Syrian Civil War, who returned to the region with instructions and funding to recruit fighters for a branch of the Islamic State in the Khorasan region. The group's traditional base of power began and remains in eastern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan. While the majority of ISIS–K attacks occur in eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, the group has claimed to have fired rockets into Afghanistan's northern neighbors, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Today, ISIS–K is engaged in a protracted, low-intensity conflict with the Taliban government. Though the Taliban and ISIS–K actively fought against the United States, since the U.S. withdrawal, ISIS–K has shifted its efforts to discredit, destabilize, and overthrow the Taliban regime to establish its envisioned Islamic caliphate. The Taliban, on the other hand, make efforts to target ISIS–K militants through violent raids, protect foreign diplomats and investors from ISIS–K attacks, and publicly downplay the presence of ISIS to attract foreign recognition and investment.

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

In 2020, ISIS–K claimed responsibility for 76 attacks, all taking place in Afghanistan. Of the 76 claimed attacks, 39 took place in Nangarhar, 24 in Kabul, 8 in Parwan, 3 in Herat, 1 in Badakhshan, and 1 in Paktia. The claimed attacks killed and wounded 759 (756 Afghan, 3 American), predominately civilians.

The group did not conduct any external operations, attacks beyond its traditional operational area of Afghanistan, during 2020.

ISIS–K's most casualty-producing attacks in 2020 included the suicide bombing of a funeral in Nangarhar (133+ casualties), the mass shooting in a Kabul Shia mosque (114 casualties), the complex attack on Kabul University (85 casualties), and the complex attack and prison break in Jalalabad (79 casualties).

ISIS–K did not claim to have performed any beheadings during 2020.

2021

In 2021, ISIS–K claimed responsibility for 343 separate attacks, taking place in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Within Afghanistan, the group claimed 327 attacks: 173 in Nangarhar, 81 in Kabul, 21 in Kunar, 20 in Parwan, 14 in Kunduz, 5 in Samangan, 3 each in Baghlan, Farah, and Logar, 2 in Herat, and one attack each in Takhar and Kandahar provinces. In neighboring Pakistan, the group claimed 16 attacks (all in the Pashtun-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province): 5 in Peshawar, 4 in Bajaur, 3 in South Waziristan, 2 in Kohat, and 1 each in Orakzai and North Waziristan districts. The claimed attacks killed and wounded 2,092 (2,052 Afghan, 13 American, and 27 Pakistani), predominately civilians.

The group did not conduct any external operations, attacks beyond its traditional operating areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan, during 2021.

ISIS–K's most casualty-producing attacks in 2021 included the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate against civilians and American military (332+ casualties), the suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in Kunduz (193+ casualties), the suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in Kandahar (135+ casualties), and the suicide bombing of a Kabul hospital (75+ casualties).

ISIS–K did not claim to have performed any beheadings during 2021.

2022

In 2022, ISIS–K claimed responsibility for 196 separate attacks, taking place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Within Afghanistan, the group claimed 154 attacks: 50 in the capital city of Kabul, 32 in Kunar, 22 in Nangarhar, 11 in Takhar, 8 in Balkh, 8 in Kunduz, 5 in Logar, 4 in Herat, 4 in Laghman, 3 in Badakhshan, 1 in Parwan, 1 in Samangan, and 1 unknown. In neighboring Pakistan, the group claimed 26 attacks (all in the Pashtun-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province): 20 in Bajaur, 18 in Peshawar, 2 in South Waziristan, and 1 unknown. The claimed attacks killed and wounded 1,294 (964 Afghan, 312 Pakistani), predominately civilians.

The group launched its first claimed attack against Afghanistan's northern neighbor, Uzbekistan, in April 2022, targeting Uzbek forces with ten Katyusha missiles launched from Afghan territory.

ISIS–K's most casualty-producing attacks in 2022 included the March bombing of a Shia mosque in Peshawar (265 casualties), September bombing of an educational center in Kabul (162), April bombing of a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif (100), and August bombing of a Shia mosque in Kabul (50).

ISIS–K conducted 2 beheadings in 2022. On 15 March, the group beheaded a purported Afghan spy in Kabul city. On 11 July, the group beheaded an Afghan Talib in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Images of the results of both beheadings were published in the Islamic State's an-Naba newsletter.

2023

In 2023, ISIS–K claimed responsibility for 48 separate attacks, all in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Within Afghanistan, the group claimed 22 attacks: 7 in the capital city of Kabul, 6 in Kunar, 3 in Badakhshan, 2 in Herat, Nangarhar, and 1 in Baghlan. In neighboring Pakistan, the group claimed 26 attacks (all in the Pashtun-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province): 18 in Bajaur District, 7 in the provincial capital city Peshawar, and 1 in Hangu District. The claimed attacks killed and wounded 653 (370 Afghan, 283 Pakistani), predominately civilians. ISIS–K's most casualty-producing attacks in 2023 included the July bombing of a Pakistani political rally (244 casualties), October bombing of a Shia mosque in Pul-e-Khumri (74), June bombing of a funeral gathering in Fayazabad (70), and January bombing of Afghan Taliban at Kabul International Airport (50).

ISIS–K did not claim to have performed any beheadings during 2023.

2024

See also

• Islamic State – Khorasan Province
• List of Islamist terrorist attacks
• List of terrorist incidents linked to the Islamic State
• Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2023
• List of terrorist attacks in Kabul
• Timeline of al-Qaeda attacks

References