President Biden said on Thursday that he had ordered plans to attack ISIS-K targets after the attack near Kabul airport.
“Let all those who carried out this attack know, as well as everyone who wants damage in the United States: we will not forgive. We will not forget it. We will chase you and make you pay, ”Biden said.
ISIS in Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, claimed that an ISIS militant carried out the suicide attack, but did not provide any evidence to support the claim.
U.S. officials warned last week that the threat of a terrorist attack at the airport was escalating. Earlier Thursday, local time, U.S. diplomats in Kabul warned U.S. citizens to leave “immediately” several airport gates, citing security threats.
But who are ISIS-K? ISIS-Khorasan is a branch of the terrorist group that first emerged in Syria and Iraq. Although affiliates share an ideology and tactics, the depth of their relationship in terms of organization, command, and control has never been fully established.
U.S. intelligence officials previously told CNN that ISIS-K members include “a small number of veteran Syrian jihadists and other foreign terrorist fighters,” saying the U.S. had identified 10 to 15 of its main agents in Afghanistan. The group’s name comes from its area terminology that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan: “Khorasan.”
The Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense for Afghanistan (SIGAR) said in a report covering the months of April to June this year that “ISIS-Khorasan exploited political instability and increased violence during the quarter by attacking minority sectarian targets and infrastructure to spread fears and highlights the Afghan government’s inability to provide adequate security. “
ISIS-K has formed cells in Kabul that have carried out several devastating suicide attacks in the Afghan capital and beyond in 2016.
The group has established a presence in eastern Afghanistan in recent years, especially in Nangahar and Kunar provinces. Last August, the group attacked the main prison in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangahar, in an effort to free dozens of its supporters who had been captured by the Afghan army and police.
Read more about the group here.
CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, Jim Sciutto and Tim Lister contributed to the publication of this article.