A number of senior members of the Islamic State group have been killed in Afghanistan in recent weeks, inflicting the most serious blows to the group which was spreading fast in many provinces across Afghanistan. According to officials at Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the Islamic State in Khurasan has been killed along with other senior militants in a drone attack in eastern province of Nangarhar. The killing of the Islamic State leader is coming shortly after death of Shahidullah Shahid, another high-profile member of the group, who was also killed in a drone strike. Another senior militant killed in the attack is named as Gul Zaman who is said to be having a leading role in the Islamic State group in Afghanistan. The killings of three senior leaders of the Islamic State group operating in Afghanistan is indicating both seriousness of the threats of the new group taken by NATO and the government of Afghanistan, and the hostile ground conditions for Islamic State’s emergence in Afghanistan.

Since last year, the Islamic State has been rapidly expanding and taking footholds in some eastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan. The group has been reported to be recruiting disgruntled members of the Taliban and other militants disappointed with the Taliban leadership over the course of the war against the Afghan government and the NATO-led international coalition in Afghanistan. The rapid expansion of the Islamic State group has come as an alarm for both the United States and the government of Afghanistan. Earlier, American commanders warned that the Islamic State group was actively recruiting fighters and expanding their presence, despite low-level contacts with the Islamic State’s headquarters in Iraq and Syria. The government of Afghanistan took notice of the group most notably when they claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in eastern Nangarhar province. While initially the group had low presence in provinces like Helmand and Nargarhar where they emerged, the group managed to quickly grow by taking advantage from hidden rifts and disappointment in Taliban ranks.

Now, the Islamic State group is a prominent militant force in eastern Nangarhar province while it has a significant presence in many other southern and eastern provinces as well. The Islamic State has opened a new front in the jihadi activities in Afghanistan putting the group at odds with the Taliban core militant group who has been a dominant militant player in the fight against NATO and Afghan government forces in last fourteen years. The opening of a new jihadi front in Afghanistan has profoundly worried the Taliban leadership who recently urged Islamic State leadership in Iraq and Syria to respect Taliban’s monopoly on jihadi activities in Afghanistan. Sending a letter to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the Taliban Quetta Shura urged him to not open a parallel jihadi front in Afghanistan. Since then, the two groups have increasingly been turning hostile to each other, making explicit threats and engaging in a deadly turf war in Farah and Nangarhar provinces. A post on the website of the Islamic State group openly threatened Taliban members to being killed and beheaded if they resisted against the Islamic State. The recent deadly clashes between the Taliban and the Islamic State group trashed all hopes of the Taliban leadership for a possible reconciliation with the new jihadi group.

It is quite probable that the fully-blown animosity between the Taliban and the Islamic State group has had a role in the recent killings of the leaders of the Islamic State group. The Islamic State group is embattled not only for its fight against the Taliban, but also by the Afghan and Pakistani intelligence agencies. There is a likelihood of cooperation between the Taliban, the Afghan intelligence agency and even the Pakistani spy agency in confronting the Islamic State. The Taliban is a number one enemy to the Islamic State Given the Taliban’s deep influence among tribal structures in the southern provinces it is much easier for the Taliban to monitor activities of the Islamic State and use it against the group. The Afghan intelligence agency has had a remarkable role in the operations against senior leaders of the Islamic State. However, given the nature and times of the killings, it is quite probable that the Taliban may also have a role in the recent killings of the senior militants.

The Islamic State is a new fight for the government of Afghanistan. The Afghan government considers the Islamic State a highly serious threat for Afghanistan’s long-term security given the group’s ferocious tactics as well as its global agenda. Afghanistan has long started preparations for confronting the Islamic State with the NDS now carrying out operations against the new militant group. The government of Afghanistan needs to take all advantages existing for eliminating the Islamic State group including encouraging internal clashes between the militant groups and seeking help from Pakistan. The Islamic State is posing a highly unexpected threat to Afghanistan’s long-term security. In addition to that, the multiplicity of the jihadi groups in Afghanistan would only further complicate the security situation and the potential peace efforts in the country.

Unlike Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has been unfortunate for rapidly expanding in Afghanistan. The group is considered as a threat by Pakistan, and pursued by the country’s military and intelligence agencies inside the country. Despite sharing common jihadi objectives in Afghanistan, the animosity between the Islamic State and the Taliban will further exacerbate which would inevitably lead to more confrontation and clashes between the two groups. There is a hostile condition for the Islamic State in Afghanistan, while the group’s ability to cope with any unexpected situation is also considerable. The recent killings of the Islamic State leaders would be a test for the group if it will be able to sustain the blows.