On March 22, Russia suffered its worst terrorist attack since the Beslan school siege of 2004 in Chechnya. The four alleged perpetrators, all of whom are citizens of Tajikistan, killed over 140 people and left many more injured in an attack on a popular concert venue, Crocus City Hall, on the outskirts of Moscow. As … Read more
The March 22 terror attack in Russia, on the outskirts of Moscow, which killed 139 people has brought attention back to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Notwithstanding the Kremlin’s proclivity to link the attackers to Ukraine and not ISKP, the group’s involvement in the attack is clear from its claim and the evidence that … Read more
The devastating March 22 terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow, allegedly carried out by four citizens of Tajikistan, vividly demonstrates the threats posed by Central Asian jihadi terrorism and Sunni Islamist extremism. The shooting at the concert hall sadly confirmed a security alert issued by the U.S. … Read more
On March 9, Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) confirmed media reports that two Kazakh citizens had been killed by law enforcement in Russia. Two days earlier, on March 7, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had stopped an Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) cell from carrying out a terrorist attack targeting a synagogue. … Read more
Although Turkey regards the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia as its strategic allies, viewing them as “brothers with common historical, linguistic, and cultural ties,” and confidently assumes the role of a “big brother” (Büyük Abi) to politically and economically integrate the vast Turkic world, it has paradoxically encountered security threats from Central Asian Salafi-Jihadi groups … Read more
Despite Gaza’s great distance from Central Asia, the Israel-Hamas war has had an impact on the religious and security landscape in the region. While al-Qaida-affiliated Central Asian Sunni extremist groups in Syria and Afghanistan limited their engagement to expressing support for Palestinian Muslims through ideologically strong statements, the Tajik militants of the Islamic State Khorasan … Read more
Undeniably, all communities in Afghanistan have suffered tremendously, but the Hazara minority has suffered disproportionately because of its distinct ethnic and religious identity. As an ethnoreligious minority, the Hazaras of Afghanistan have endured a long history of discrimination and systematic persecution. The Hazara community has suffered from enslavement, mass killings, and forced displacement throughout the … Read more
Central Asian jihadi groups affiliated with al-Qaida, the Islamic State (IS), and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have sought to capitalize on Muslim anger over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and mass marches in capitals around the world to support Palestinians. Initially, Uzbek jihadi propagandists associated with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Katibat al-Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), … Read more
Advertisement Uzbekistan’s necessarily close relations with the Taliban are making Tashkent an indispensable partner to Washington amid the growing threat posed by the Islamic State. With U.S. policymakers showing increased concern for the rise of the Afghanistan-based Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) and largely unwilling to become reinvolved militarily following the 2021 withdrawal, utilizing … Read more
Advertisement An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years. Islamic State in Khorasan Province claimed in a statement posted on its Amaq website. … Read more