| Summary/Abstract |
The emergence of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Afghanistan and Pakistan is changing the dynamics of militancy in a region that was already home to a number of local and foreign militant groups. The establishment of ISIS’s Khorasan branch – which uses an ancient name for Afghanistan and the surrounding parts of Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia – in January 2015 marked the first time that ISIS had officially spread outside the Arab world. ISIS was also the first major militant group to directly challenge the Afghan Taliban’s dominance over local insurgency, and to reject the authority and legitimacy of the group’s founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. From its inception, ISIS has tried to differentiate itself from the Taliban, which it has repeatedly attacked on both the military and ideological fronts. In the process, it has managed to gain a foothold in the Afghanistan–Pakistan region, though it has also experienced several ideological and military setbacks. The group’s emergence, and the related intensification of conflict among militant groups in South and Central Asia, has the potential to radically alter the balance of militant forces in the region.
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