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The group that has been linked to the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday is the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan called Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K.

ISIS-K was founded in 2015 by disaffected members of the Pakistani Taliban, who then embraced a more violent version of Islam. The group saw its ranks cut roughly in half, to about 1,500 to 2,000 fighters, by 2021 from a combination of American airstrikes and Afghan commando raids that killed many of its leaders.

The group got a dramatic second wind soon after the Taliban toppled the Afghan government that year. During the U.S. military withdrawal from the country, ISIS-K carried out a suicide bombing at the international airport in Kabul in August 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and as many as 170 civilians.

The attack raised ISIS-Ks international profile, positioning it as a major threat to the Talibans ability to govern.

Since then, the Taliban have been fighting pitched battles against ISIS-K in Afghanistan. So far, the Talibans security services have prevented the group from seizing territory or recruiting large numbers of former Taliban fighters bored in peacetime among the worst-case scenarios laid out after Afghanistans Western-backed government collapsed.

President Biden and his top commanders have said the United States would carry out over-the-horizon strikes from a base in the Persian Gulf against ISIS and Qaeda insurgents who threaten the United States and its interests overseas.

Indeed, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the head of the militarys Central Command, told a House committee on Thursday that ISIS-K retains the capability and the will to attack U.S. and Western interests abroad in as little as six months with little to no warning.

ISIS is clearly seeking to project its external operations well beyond its home turf. Counterterrorism officials in Europe say that in recent months they have snuffed out several nascent ISIS-K plots to attack targets there.

In a post on its official Telegram account in January, ISIS-K said it was behind a bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a revered Iranian commander who was killed in an American drone strike in 2020.

ISIS-K, which has repeatedly threatened Iran over what it says is its polytheism and apostasy, has claimed responsibility for several previous attacks there.

Now, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the concert hall attack in Moscow, and U.S. officials connected it specifically to ISIS-K.

ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years and frequently criticizes President Vladimir V. Putin in its propaganda, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscows interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.

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What We Know About ISIS-K, the Group That Has Been Linked to the Moscow Attack - The New York Times

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Billings, MT (59102) Today

Cloudy with rain developing this afternoon. High 58F. S winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 32F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Updated: March 28, 2024 @ 10:01 am

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UK special forces are accused of killing civilians during the conflict in Afghanistan - KULR-TV

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Growing up in Afghanistan,Tahir Shaaranwas endlessly curious about the world around him including the seemingly endless conflicts that engulfed his country.

I was always thinking about the connection between me and my surroundings and how the universe is functioning What is the meaning of being here? and those kinds of complicated philosophical questions, he says.

Shaaran found at least some of the answers he was seeking in physics and quantum physics in particular. He would go on to spendnearly twodecades studying and working around the world before returning to Afghanistan to work as director-general of its nuclear energy agency an effort, he says, to use his knowledge to help his country.

Now a visiting scholar in the University of Torontos department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Shaaran is teaching the next generation of scientists and says hes once again reminded of educations power to drive change and social progress.

So many people who had the right education and skills to help Afghanistan in terms of development ended up having to leave, he says. At the end of the day, its about humanity the crisis in Afghanistan is not just local to that country. Even though it feels like something may not directly affect us, the consequences of such situations are much bigger than for just one place or group of people.

A lot of the time, were looking for quick fixes, but we have to advocate for long-term, sustainable solutions and we can only do that through education.

Born during the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Shaaran left his native Bamyan province with his family when he was still a young child due to civil unrest in the region. He was raised in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and later fled to Europe in 1999 following persecution and attacks on the minority Hazara community to which his family belonged.

Settling in the United Kingdom, Shaaran completed several degreesin physics at University College London. Throughout his studies, he collaborated with international institutions, including the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the U.K. and the neutron-scattering facility at Institut LaueLangevin in France.

He went on to work abroad on atomic and nuclear physics, including at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the Institute of Photonic Science in Spain.

Yet, Afghanistan was never far from his mind and he began thinking about how his studies could help improve the economic and social situation back home.

I had met the vice-president of Afghanistan in Germany and told him about my plan: the dream of building a national research centre for science and technology back in Afghanistan, Shaaran says.

I wanted to have a bigger impact, so I thought the research centre was something that could help more people.

He was invited to Kabul to meet then-president Ashraf Ghani. While there was no money to fund his research centre dream, Shaaran was tapped to become director-general of Afghanistans Nuclear Energy Agency in 2018 a job he hoped to slowly expand to include a research element. At first, he says was encouraged by the governments stated openness to scientific progress and development, but soon found himself disillusioned as the political and security situation in the country deteriorated.

I didnt receive the support the president had promised, Shaaran recalls. Some of it was understandable, as there was a war and a complicated political situation, but I had a feeling the system was going to collapse so I resigned in early 2021.

Looking back, he says his exit came just in time the Taliban captured Kabul later that year and the United States withdrew its military. The situation remains volatile, with a crackdown on womens rights, threats of terrorism, extreme poverty and other challenges.

In a way, we are all responsible for what has happened to Afghanistan from human rights activists to the police to policymakers [because] we didnt think about how we could build the country independently without relying on anyone from the outside, says Shaaran, who has been a longtime advocate for human rights and the rights of Afghanistans minority Hazara population.

Shaaran says teaching at U of T helps keep him inspired and optimistic about the future thanks in no small part to a steady stream of engaged physics students. He also leads an advanced physics lab this semester that offers 40 different experiments for five different courses.

His expertise allows him to supervise a range of projects, covering topics from optics to particle physics, and help students progress through their experiments. In addition to that, he is a great colleague willing to learn from more experienced members from the team, while sharing his expertise with teaching assistants and junior colleagues, says Shaarans colleagueAnia Harlick, an assistant professor, teaching stream.

Tahirbrings considerable expertise in theoretical and nuclear physics from his work in academia and at Afghanistans nuclear agency, adds ProfessorKimberly Strong, chair of the department of physics.

He has been actively engaged in the life of the department this year, and it has been such a great pleasure hosting him here.

As for his ongoing advocacy efforts, Shaaran continues tospeak with politicians and organize rallies and workshops to ensure Afghanistan and its people remain in the public consciousness.

Despite all the difficulties, Im an optimist because when I call someone in Afghanistan even in a remote area and even though young women and girls are not allowed to go to school they still have drive and hope, he says. Many people send me emails or texts saying they are looking for online education as they want to learn.

Those small things give me a lot of hope.

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U of T visiting scholar pairs Afghanistan advocacy with a passion for physics - University of Toronto

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They fled Afghanistan after Bidens withdrawal. Now in the US, they hope Trump wins  The Guardian

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They fled Afghanistan after Bidens withdrawal. Now in the US, they hope Trump wins - The Guardian

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Our panellists, Kate Clark and Vincent McAviney, explore whether Afghanistan is in danger or re-emerging as a hub of global terrorism, why the UKs veterans affairs minister could face jail time, whether the great olive-oil strike of Frankfurts European Central Bank is justified and why moonshine is making a return. Plus: musician John Miller is live in the studio.

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From Afghanistan to Moscow's Crocus City Hall, The Monocle Daily 2731 - Radio - Monocle

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