Islamic State-Khorasan moving war to Pakistan
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New Delhi: Sending jitters in the nation, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) is shifting its war to Pakistan, according to a report.
The terror outfit's latest move comes after the increasing pressure from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Since coming to power, Taliban waged intense fight against IS-K militants, according to IANS based on RFE/RL report.
IS-K reportedly carried out high-profile attacks in Pakistan becoming a serious threat to the nation.
On March 4, in a most lethal attack in four years an IS-K suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque killing 64 people, wounding several others in the northern city of Peshawar.
Since it first emerged in 2015, Islamic State's local affiliate in Afghanistan has focused its violent campaign within that country, fighting against Afghan and foreign forces as well as the Taliban, a rival militant group, IANS reported.
Already in fear after scores of terrorist attacks, increasing IS-K assaults have sent jitters across the nation where outfits like the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are active.
Carrying out five attacks this year, IS-K claimed the responsibility for a roadside bomb explosion on March 8 killing five members of the security forces as well as injuring 28 others in southwestern Pakistan.
The growing attacks prompted Moazzam Jah Ansari, the police chief in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to declare IS-K a "bigger threat to peace and security in the province compared to the TTP", according to the report.
Following military offensive in 2014, TTP was driven out of its base in northwestern tribal area, causing many of its members to join IS-K.
But the TTP soon found itself fighting turf wars with the Afghan Taliban. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the rivalry has intensified.
The Afghan militants have waged a nationwide hunt for IS-K members, often targeting the country's small Salafi minority for alleged support for the group.
Underscoring the rivalry, the Afghan Taliban condemned IS-K's deadly attack in Peshawar. The TTP, meanwhile, said that such attacks do not align with its jihad, or holy war, in Pakistan, the report said.
