The steady fragmentation of the Taliban, and doubts over whether its elusive leader is even alive, are driving a growing number of militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan towards the self proclaimed “Islamic State” (IS) for inspiration.
Security and intelligence sources in the region believe there are no operational links between IS and South Asia yet, and that the region is not a priority for a group that occupies areas of Syria and Iraq and is focused on the Arab world.
But leaders worry that a new ultra-violent movement bent on toppling governments and establishing strict Islamic rule could be born from the as yet unsuccessful Taliban terrorist outfits that carry out frequent attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In Afghanistan, one militant commander said many have turned to IS, or Daish as it is also known, because they are frustrated at the lack of leadership by Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Afghan Taliban chief who has not been seen in public for years.
“Look, we have been fighting for years but we don’t have an inch of land in our possession in Afghanistan,” said the senior commander, who spoke from the Afghan province of Kunar.
“On the other hand, Daish, within limited time, captured vast areas in Iraq and Syria and established Sharia. This is what is being discussed all the time in our circles.”
“We have serious doubts about whether he (Omar) is alive at all … Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is visible and is leading his people,” the commander said, referring to the IS leader.
In Afghanistan’s Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold, former Taliban commander Mullah Rauf Khadem has recruited about 100 men and declared the Helmand branch of Islamic State, a security source and local elders said.
“There is a rift between senior Taliban and Mullah Rauf Khadem,” said Abdul Ahad Masoomi, a tribal elder in Kajaki district where the group has become particularly active. “He has told other commanders and fighters that Mullah Omar has died, due to sickness, in Pakistan.”
The group has been riding around on motorcycles brandishing black flags similar to those used by IS, but otherwise they have not been involved in major fighting, according to locals.
The Taliban, who like al Qaeda are wary of the rise of a rival force, deny the Helmand group’s existence. “There is no such group there, it is state propaganda,” said Qari Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman for southern regions. “State troops have suffered heavy losses and they are trying to create rifts among the Taliban to conceal their failures.”
“The existence of IS supporters is a big concern for us and we will do whatever we can to stop it in Helmand before it spreads to other provinces,” said a senior Afghan security official.
IS ideology goes beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Bangladesh, police have arrested eight men for alleged links to IS in the past year.
In Pakistan, graffiti praising IS have been spotted in some areas. Security forces also arrested the man they believed was the IS commander in the country and two accomplices involved in recruiting and sending fighters to Syria.
Islamic State competes with Al Qaeda, which is affiliated with the Taliban, to lead the global jihad, and has expanded its network beyond Iraq and Syria in recent months.
Yet neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan has featured in its leaders’ speeches as yet.
