How brutal is ISIS-K and why did it attack Moscow?

Information claiming ISIS-K was responsible for the terrorist attack that killed at least 133 people and injured nearly 200 at a shopping mall in Moscow on March 22nd was disseminated to the public via the Telegram messaging platform. Specifically, the Amaq news site, linked to ISIS-K, stated that the group organized and carried out the attack.

ISIS attacked Moscow in what way and why? (Figure 1) — The Crocus City Hall shopping and performing arts center in Moscow, Russia, was engulfed in flames after being set on fire by terrorists. Photo: EPA

ISIS releases photos of attackers in Russia.
The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group on Saturday released a photo of what they say are four of the attackers involved in Friday's deadly terrorist attack in Moscow.
"The attack occurred amid a fierce war between the Islamic State and anti-Islam states," the group's Amaq news agency added in a statement citing security sources.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, but Russia still maintains a link to Ukraine, despite strong denials from Ukrainian officials that Kyiv had no involvement in the incident.

The veracity of this information is currently unclear. However, to understand the full picture, it's necessary to consider what kind of terrorist group ISIS-K is, and if they did indeed carry out the bloody attack in Moscow, what were the motives behind this inhumane act?

A more brutal version of the Taliban.

ISIS-K was founded in 2015 by disgruntled members of the Taliban in Pakistan who sought to pursue a more violent version of Islam.

Named Khorasan Province – an old term for the region encompassing parts of Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, abbreviated as ISIS-K – the group began operating in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and pursues a more brutal version of Islam than the Taliban.

As one of the most active branches of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization, the ISIS-K group has seen its membership decline since peaking around 2018.

By 2021, ISIS-K's ranks had dwindled by almost half, to around 1,500 to 2,000 fighters, a result of a combination of US airstrikes and Afghan commando raids that killed many of the group's leaders.

ISIS-K faced a dramatic second wave of turmoil shortly after the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government that year. During the US military withdrawal, ISIS-K carried out a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in August 2021, killing 13 US soldiers and 170 civilians.

The attack boosted ISIS-K's international standing, viewing it as a major threat to the Taliban's ability to rule. But since then, the Taliban have intensified their crackdown on ISIS-K in Afghanistan. To date, Taliban security forces have prevented the group from seizing territory or recruiting large numbers of disillusioned peacetime Taliban veterans.

Extending the tentacles of violence beyond Afghanistan.

The Taliban have contained ISIS-K, preventing its expansion in Afghanistan. But outside of Afghanistan, the U.S. and many of its counterterrorism allies still view the group as a dangerous threat to global security.

ISIS attacked Moscow in what way and why? (Figure 2) — ISIS-K fighters are known for their brutality. Photo: Herald Sun

General Michael Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told Congress last March that ISIS-K was rapidly developing the capability to conduct “operations outside” in Europe and Asia. Kurilla predicted that ISIS-K would be able to strike U.S. and Western interests outside Afghanistan “within six months and with little to no warning.”

ISIS-K has a history of brutal attacks, including attacks on mosques, both inside and outside Afghanistan. Counterterrorism officials in Europe say ISIS is seeking to expand its operations outside its "home turf," and in recent months they have thwarted several new ISIS-K plots targeting objectives in Europe.

In a post on its official Telegram account in January of this year, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, during a memorial service for Major General Qassim Suleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020.

ISIS-K has repeatedly threatened Iran over what it considers polytheism and apostasy. The group has also claimed responsibility for several previous attacks in Iran.

It is noteworthy that in September 2022, ISIS-K also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the Russian Embassy in Kabul, which killed two embassy staff members.

And now, ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the bloody attack at the Crocus City Hall shopping and performing arts center, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia.

Colin Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at Soufan Group, a New York-based security consulting firm, said: “ISIS-K has focused its attention on Russia for the past two years and has frequently criticized President Vladimir Putin in its propaganda activities.”

Analyst Colin Clarke explains that ISIS-K attacked Moscow because of Moscow's military intervention in Islamist movements in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria over the past years.

Quang Anh

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