South Asia Terrorism Portal
IS-KP: Another Weapon in the ISI Armory Ajit Kumar Singh Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On June 12, 2020, at least four civilians, were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack that occurred at Sher Shah Suri Mosque in the Kart-e-Char area of Kabul city in Kabul Province. The blast took place when people were offering Friday prayers, killing four worshippers, including the prayer leader Imam Maulavi Azizullah Mufleh.
Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the Taliban has, in fact, condemned the attack. It is widely believed that the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP) was behind the attack. Significantly, a similar attack on the Wazir Akber Khan Mosque in Kabul took place on June 2, 2020. Two persons, including prayer leader, Mullah Mohammad Ayaz Niazi, were killed and two others were injured in the blast, which took place when worshippers had gathered for evening prayers. Claiming responsibility for the attack, IS-KP described the targeted prayer leader as “an apostate and evil, propagating loyalty to the apostate Afghan government.”
On May 30, 2020, two employees of Khurshid TV, a private TV channel, were killed in an explosion in Kabul City. Those killed included a reporter and a technical worker of the television channel. Six others, including one of the employees of the TV channel, were injured. IS-KP claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, two of the worst attacks in the recent past were attributed to/ claimed by IS-KP:
May 12, 2020: Unidentified terrorists attacked a maternity ward run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) killing 16 civilians, including two new-born infants, in Dasht-e Barchi area, a Hazara Shia dominated neighbourhood of Kabul city. Security Forces killed four terrorists at the site. The civilian death toll later increased to 24.
May 12, 2020: A suicide attack targeting the funeral ceremony of Shaikh Akram, a former ‘commander’ of the Public Uprising Forces, killed at least 24 civilians in Shewa District of Nangarhar Province. Abdullah Malikzai, a member of the Nangarhar Provincial Council, also lost his life in the attack. Later, the civilian death toll increased to 32.
The Taliban issued a statement asserting that the group was not behind either of these attacks. IS-KP claimed the funeral attack. Though it did not make any statement on the hospital attack, the United States (US) Special Envoy for Afghan Peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, on May 14, 2020, asserted,
According to a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released on April 27, 2020, a total of 1,293 civilian casualties (533 killed and 760 injured) took place in Afghanistan during the first three months of 2020. UNAMA attributed 55 per cent of the total casualties to Anti-Government Elements (AGEs): 39 per cent to the Taliban, 13.38 per cent to IS-KP, i.e. 173 civilian casualties (63 killed and 110 injured)], and the remainder to unspecified AGEs. According to the report,
IS-KP continues to wreak havoc, despite suffering severe losses over a long period. According to a Combating Terrorism Centre Report released in March 2020, between 2015 and 2018,
Further, a United Nations report on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security released on February 4, 2020, noted,
Not surprisingly, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on November 19, 2019, buoyantly declared, "No one believed one year ago that we would stand up and remain in Nangarhar, and thank God that today we have obliterated Daesh [IS-KP]." Adding to the optimism, Nangarhar Governor Shah Mahmoud Miakhel asserted, "It's not possible that they once again equip themselves in other areas of Afghanistan and threaten other parts of the country."
However, the recent attacks demonstrate that the jubilation was premature.
Indeed, the US was more cautious in its assessment. An unnamed US official stated on November 21, 2019, that, according to the US assessment “IS-KP still maintains a presence [in Kunar], as well as the northern provinces of Afghanistan”. The US at that time estimated that the IS-KP had between 4,000 and 5,000 fighters across Afghanistan, and the outfit was far from finished.
The United Nations report on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) released on February 4, 2020, noted,
Formed in January 2015, IS-KP had a large number of cadres of Pakistani origin from the beginning. However, it has gradually found increasing support from Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and much of the replenishment of losses comes from Pakistan. Antonio Giustozzi, in his 2018 book “The Islamic State in Khorasan: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the New Central Asian Jihad” that chronicles the formation of the group and related activities states,
The book further notes that spate of eliminations of IS-KP leaders by US and Afghan forces had forced the group to seek Pakistani help.
The Combating Terrorism Centre Report of March 2020 also noted that, unlike in Afghanistan,
Conspicuously, these covert Pakistani machinations are now being exposed with Afghan Security Establishment bringing the truth out in the open.
Afghan Security Forces on April 4, 2020, arrested the emir of IS-KP Mawlawi Abdullah aka Aslam Farooqui, on charges of orchestrating the attack on the Kabul Gurdwara on March 25. Mawlawi Abdullah, a Pakistani national (from the Orakzai agency), who became the emir of IS-KP in April 2019, was earlier associated with the LeT. 19 others, including IS-KP leaders Ali Mohammed from Islamabad and Salman from Karachi, were also arrested. An unnamed senior Afghan counter-terror official stated,
The ISI has progressively imposed a Pakistani leadership on IS-KP, culled from ‘loyal’ Pakistani terrorist formations such as LeT. IS-KP cadres are also increasingly dominated by Pakistani nationals from such ‘reliable’ formation, including LeT and JeM, creating a decisive secondary influence in Afghanistan.
Slowly and steadily the Taliban is moving towards capturing political power in Kabul. The ISI needs another instrumentality on Afghan soil, as they do not trust the Taliban if it is restored to power in Kabul. IS-KP also provides an instrument to maintain pressure on the US as a bargaining tool. IS-KP is the new weapon in the ISI armory. The ISI will continue to nurture it and seek to transform it into a formidable force in the foreseeable future, unless the international community led by the US takes some drastic counter-measures; a prospect, in their current state of panic and flight, that is highly unlikely.
Assam: Interloper in Karbi Conflict Giriraj Bhattacharjee Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On June 11, 2020, a People's Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK) militant was arrested from Therebasa in Karbi Anglong District. One pistol was retrieved from his possession.
On June 6, 2020, a joint team of the State Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) arrested four PDCK militants, including 'finance secretary' Francis Terang aka David Mukrang, from Therebasa. The other three arrestees were identified as 'sergeant' Naman Rishi Rengma aka Akhabi Rengma, Roosevelt Engti, and Angtong Rongpi. Security Forces (SFs) recovered two 7.65 mm pistols with two magazines, cash worth INR 301,000 and nine SIM cards from their possession.
On February 27, 2020, SFs arrested an unidentified PDCK militant from Bilaspara in Dhubri District.
On February 2, 2020, SFs, in two separate operations, arrested four PDCK militants, identified as Clarbong Teron, Jirsong Hanse, ‘lance corporal’ Armung Terang aka Cling Terang (25), and ‘private trainer’ Longkam Dera aka Mohen Fangso, from Virvar Sai Teron Gaon and Langbongkroi areas in Karbi Anglong District.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), SFs have so far arrested 11 PDCK militants (10 of them in 2020, one in 2019) since the formation of the outfit on October 27, 2016.
No PDCK militant has been killed by SFs so far. No cadre of the outfit has surrendered. Moreover, PDCK has not been found involved in any incident of killing so far.
However, the outfit was found involved in some insurgent and disruptive activities. These include:
July 21, 2018: An inspecified number of PDCK cadres were injured in an encounter with the Police at Bokaram Tokbi Gaon under Dolamara Police Station in Karbi Anglong District.
November 4, 2017: PDCK called for a 24-hour total bandh (shutdown) starting from November 7, 2017. In a press note, PDCK 'red army's’ 'chief of army staff', David Mukrang, claimed that the bandh had been called in protest against "atrocity and torture committed against its functionaries Raju, Engleng, and Logsing Teron, by Indian occupational forces.” No untoward incident was reported during the bandh.
August 14, 2017: Seven armed militant formations, including PDCK, called a 12-hour bandh on Independence Day (August 15), in the entire North East India, to ‘ban’ celebration of Independence Day. Other militant formations were Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Kanglei Yowel Kanna Lup (KYKL), Saoraigwra faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland NDFB (NDFB-S), and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT).
PDCK also tried to force some ‘social reforms’ that included ‘death sentence’ for rapists and molesters, and promised ‘dire consequences’ for those who sell pornographic content and intoxicants like alcohol and tobacco products near educational institutions, clubs and churches. On July 1, 2017, PDCK ordered people from the Karbi tribe not to marry people from other tribal and non-tribal communities, claiming that such alliances bring evil practices such as the dowry system and rape into Karbi culture. The group declared a fine of INR 500,000 for those violating this diktat, and also proposed severe physical punishment as a deterrent. Announcing the decision, PDCK’s ‘chief of army staff’ David Mukrong warned,
However, none of these ‘directives’ could be enforced by PDCK due to lack of sufficiently trained cadres, besides pre-emptive efforts undertaken by SFs.
PDCK was formed in October 26, 2016, by I. K. Songbijit. He became the ‘chairman’ of the outfit. The other leaders of the outfit included ‘General Secretary’ & ‘Publicity Secretary’ Nongme Tungjang; ‘Finance secretary’ and 'chief of army staff', Francis Terang aka David Mukrang, and ‘Home Secretary’ Mir Ang Sir Ang.
PDCK’s stated aim is sovereignty for Karbi people and its area of operation is the Karbi Anglong District.
Soon after, on October 31, 2016, the then Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police, Debojit Deuri, had asserted,
Further, on November 2, 2016, the then Additional Director General of Police (ADGP-Special Branch), Pallab Bhattacharjee disclosed,
The then ‘chairman’ of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland – IK Songbijit faction (NDFB-IKS), IK Songbijit, who was reportedly responsible for the December 2014 massacre of Adivasis [tribals from Central India brought by British to work in Tea gardens] by NDFB-IKS militants, was forced out of NDFB-IKS in 2015. Subsequently, B. Saoraigwra became the leader and the NDFB-IKS was renamed as NDFB-S and became irrelevant. An unnamed source aware of the developments, disclosed on January 9, 2017,
Songbijit himself belongs to the Karbi tribe.
Songbijit, a veteran militant leader, who for most part of his militant career fought for the ‘Bodo’ cause, despite being a Karbi himself, now wanted to create legitimate grounds for himself among the Karbis. And he had a cause ready to be exploited. In a March 27, 2017, in an interview with a private TV channel, Songbijit explaining the rationale behind the formation of the outfit, stated,
Bodo outfits like Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) were demanding that the Government accord Scheduled Tribe (Hills) status for Bodos settled in Karbi Anglong. This was bitterly opposed by Karbi civil society groups as well as Karbi armed outfits. Songbijit realised that, as most of the Karbi outfits, like the Karbi Longri North Cachar Liberation Front (KLNLF) and KPLT were more or less inactive, there was a void to exploit.
According to reports, non-tribals comprise 46 per cent of around 960,000 population of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). Naturally, PDCK tried to play on the demographic fears of the Karbi community, and the loss of its political edge to ‘outsiders’, in order to gain legitimacy in tribal politics. On January 2, 2017, PDCK issued ‘quit notices’ to Bengali and Hindi speaking residents in Karbi Anglong,
Further, on October 27, 2019, PDCK ‘chairman’ Songbijit, disclosed that the group would declare independence, and also ‘asked’ the Indian Army to leave,
Operating out of Myanmar, Songbijit, however, faced a setback when the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) in February-March 2019 launched operations against the Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) based in Myanmar and severely restricted the ability of ULFA-I and the Yung Aung faction of the NSCN-K (NSCN-K-Yung Aung) to provide sanctuary for other militant groups, thus foiling PDCK plans. The NSCN-K split took place in August 2018.
Nevertheless, even as favourable external factors supporting militancy have since been downgraded, chances of internal mobilisation on safeguarding Karbi identity and political rights have received a fillip, especially after the January 27, 2020, Bodo Agreement potentially benefiting now dormant armed groups in the region. Indeed, on February 19, 2020, KLNLF ‘general secretary’ Thong Terong Kabi warned, “The identity of Karbis will come under threat if Bodos who live in the hill areas [along with Karbis] are also given a Scheduled Hill Tribe status.”
PDCK would also have been trying to exploit this situation.
SFs, meanwhile, have been assertive in their plans to wipe out this insurgent outfit. On June 3, 2020, Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta urged the PDCK leader Songbijit to join the mainstream, cautioning that the group was under surveillance. The DGP asked Songbijit to surrender or be ready to face consequences.
Counter Insurgency (CI) operations by SFs against marginal entities like PDCK will continue, in order to preserve the relative peace established in the undivided Karbi Anglong District and also to deter militant groups from neighbouring states from using them as proxy forces.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia June 8-14, 2020
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
Terrorists/Insurgents
Total
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Jharkhand
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
KP
Punjab
PAKISTAN (Total)
171 Government Forces killed in a week in Taliban attacks, revels Ministry of Interior officials: Ministry of interior (MoI) revealed that 171 personnel of the Afghan National Security Forces lost their lives in clashes with the Taliban in a week. 250 others were wounded in the clashes, according to the numbers. The data also shows that 222 attacks were carried out by the Taliban during the last week in 29 Provinces. All these attacks happened even after an unannounced ceasefire between the two sides that is part of the peace efforts by the Afghan government and its international partners. Tolo News, June 14, 2020.
New Taliban splinter group that opposes U.S. Peace Deal emerges: A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami, (Party of Islamic Guardianship), is believed to have split from the mainstream Taliban soon after the United States and the militant group signed a landmark peace agreement in February. London based expert Antonio Giustozzi, working for Royal United Services Institute, said it appears the new splinter group is based in Iran. Tolo News, June 9, 2020.
Taliban maintains 'close' ties with al Qaeda despite U.S. peace deal, says UN report: A new United Nations (UN) report reveals that the Taliban still maintains close ties with the al Qaeda terrorist network, despite signing a peace deal with the United States in which they committed to fight militant groups. The Taliban slammed the report, made public on June 1, as "baseless and bigoted."
Taliban on June 11, rejected American Central Command's Commander, General, Kenneth F. McKenzie assessment that the al-Qaida leadership is still based in Afghanistan, insisting that no foreign fighters linked to the group are present in the country. "Those Arab or other (foreign) fighters who were based in Afghanistan under the banner of al-Qaida during the rule of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) are no longer here," said a statement published on the Taliban's official website. Gandhara; June 2, 2020.VoA News; June 12, 2020.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani rejects possibility of Interim Government after a potential agreement with Taliban: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on June 11, in a virtual interview given for the Atlantic Council, rejected the possibility of the formation of an interim government in Afghanistan as a result of a potential peace deal with the Taliban. Tolo News, June 13, 2020.
ISI planning 'virtual war' against India, according to Intelligence report: Intelligence agencies, in a report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), have alerted about a nefarious design of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has created a new terror brigade to wage a "virtual war" against India. According to sources, ISI had named the brigade as "Defenders of Pakistan", which had been assigned the task of carrying out its operations "in the virtual mode by creating social media handles and hashtags". The Tribune, June 11, 2020.
AQIS flushed in online contents to instigate people to launch 'lone wolf' attacks against Indian Government, says report: Intelligence inputs have revealed that the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has flushed in online contents to instigate and influence people to launch "lone wolf" attacks against the Indian government. The AQIS has recruited a huge team of Islamic scholars and clerics based out of Bangladesh to create content for broadcasting using similarly-named profiles on websites and digital platforms, intelligence inputs have claimed. Times Now, June 6, 2020.
Parliament approves constitutional amendment:The Majlis (parliament) on June 2 passed the constitutional amendment allowing the term of incumbent local councillors to be extended. The current term of the councillors will expire on June 3, and a legal limbo would have been caused after that as the local council election slated for April 4 has been indefinitely postponed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Avas, June 9, 2020.
Government enacts Crime Victim Relief Fund Regulations to provide relief or compensation:The Government of Nepal has enacted the Crime Victim Relief Fund Regulations to provide relief or compensation to persons victimised by criminal offences reports. As per the regulations, there shall be a five-member Steering Committee headed by a Registrar of the Supreme Court. Its members include Joint Secretaries at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, and Judgment Execution Directorate of the apex court. The Himalayan Times, June 9, 2020.
All illegal election propaganda banned: All illegal election propaganda was banned from June 14. Police commenced a special operation to remove posters, banners and cut-outs as well advertisements displayed targeting the forthcoming General Election. Police said the special operation will cover the entire island. Police Media Spokesperson SP Jaliya Senaratne said steps will be taken to stop all illegal propaganda activities aimed at the election. Colombo Page, May 29, 2020.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
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