It was a symbolic strike for the jihadist organization, highlighting its longevity and sparking concern in the West.
More than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US servicemen were killed in the August 26 attack on Kabul airport — the deadliest violence against US forces in Afghanistan since 2011, shattering morale and complicating evacuation efforts.
It was also the bloodiest attack against the US claimed by an IS group affiliate, namely the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K), coming at an acutely sensitive moment for the withdrawing forces.
It coincided as well with the beginning of the trial of those accused of orchestrating the November 13, 2015, attacks on Paris claimed by IS which resulted in 130 deaths.
The bloody carnage in the French capital marked the peak of the group’s so-called “caliphate,” which straddled Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2019.
At the end of the week, the world will also mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks which were the largest terror attacks on the West in recent times, claimed by the IS group’s rival Al-Qaeda.
The resurgence of IS in Afghanistan now looks set to inspire radical jihadists of all stripes.
“Western intelligence agencies should already be on high alert given the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, always a period for inspired attacks, and the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan,” Katherine Zimmerman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, told AFP. “Jihadists have already called for more attacks on the West.”
Since the collapse of the so-called caliphate following a multinational military assault, the jihadist threat has shifted considerably with IS now probably lacking the capacity to strike in the heart of Europe as in 2015, analysts told AFP.
But the group’s reach has continued to be felt through affiliates in Yemen, Nigeria and Mali among others which continue to plot attacks, while remaining hyperactive on social media, drawing in followers.
Western intelligence agencies from Langley to Whitehall to Auckland have proved unable to eradicate the threat of lone wolf attackers, radicalized online, who strike with improvised weapons such as knives or vehicles. READ MORE
