Bombing Attack Targeting Taliban... IS Claims Responsibility for the Attack

Series of Attacks in Eastern Afghan City
"35 Taliban Casualties Reported"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The extremist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the series of bomb attacks that occurred last weekend in eastern Afghanistan.

According to foreign media including EFE News Agency and local reports on the 20th, IS stated in an interview with its propaganda outlet Amaq News Agency that it carried out a series of attacks over the past two days in Jalalabad Province in the east.

IS said, "On the 18th, we carried out three bomb attacks targeting three Taliban vehicles in Jalalabad," adding, "On the 19th, there was also an attack on a Taliban vehicle, resulting in the deaths of more than three Taliban members." They also claimed that over 15 Taliban fighters were killed and 20 were injured during these incidents.

IS has long been suspected as the primary perpetrator immediately following the series of bomb attacks. It is believed that after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, dissatisfaction with their ideology and governance methods led to such actions.

Currently, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K), a branch of IS, is mainly active in Afghanistan. Its core stronghold is Nangarhar Province, which includes Jalalabad. Jalalabad, where the bomb attacks took place, is a key city in eastern Afghanistan and the capital of Nangarhar Province.

The Taliban, who control Afghanistan, have not disclosed specific casualty figures. However, a Taliban official from Nangarhar Province told EFE News Agency, "On the morning of the 19th, a bomb attack on a vehicle resulted in the deaths of four people, including two Taliban fighters."

Although the Taliban and IS-K are both Sunni Islamist armed groups, they have been in serious conflict. IS-K has particularly criticized the Taliban for engaging in peace negotiations with the United States, labeling them as moderate. IS-K also carried out a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on the 26th of last month, killing about 170 people.