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Significance
IS-K says it was also behind a December 26 car bomb that killed the police chief of the north-eastern Badakhshan region. Other IS-K attacks in recent months have targeted the Shia Muslim minority, mainstream Sunni clerics and a hotel used by Chinese workers. Recent attacks have been relatively ineffective and seem mainly designed for propaganda purposes.
Impacts
The presence of other insurgent groups linked to the previous government will divert some Taliban attention from IS-K.
The Taliban appear to see cooperation against IS-K as the best route to improving relations with Washington.
The persistent IS-K threat will make neighbours including Uzbekistan and China question whether the Taliban can stabilise Afghanistan.
Keywords:
Afghanistan,
AP,
Central Asia,
Syria,
Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan,
politics,
social,
civil war,
ethnic,
government,
guerrillas,
religion,
security,
terrorism
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2023
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