ISIL fighters in Afghanistan, with their commander, Abu Rashid in the middle, during a documentary by Al Jazeera and Euronews, inside their territory.

While Islamic State is on the run in Middle East where it is facing a resounding defeat that has resulted in territory loss, at the same time the Islamic State threat in Afghanistan has been steadily rising since last several months and regardless of how rosy the picture American officials paint, fact is Afghanistan is entering into uncharted waters where everyone is fighting their own war and everything is for the taking. In this complex mix, the rising threat of Islamic State Khorasan chapter, more commonly known as ISKP, is giving both Afghan security forces and Taliban some tough time.

Couple of months ago, a Taliban commander Qari Hekmat in Jawzjan province defected to ISKP in northern Afghanistan. He and fighters loyal to him then went on to enslave local women and set up a training school for 300-600 children.

In early October, Hekmat’s fighters overran most Taliban positions in Qush Tepa district.

Taliban in return launched their counter-offensive, which failed. While the Taliban were able to re-take a number of villages, Hekmat’s fighters retook those areas in their own counter-counter offensive. Eventually, the Taliban had to retreat. There are still shockwaves within Taliban ranks after they faced stunning defeat at the hands of ISKP in several key battles. Earlier in February 2017 six Red Cross workers were killed in an ambush in the same restive Jawzjan province. The strong presence established some six months ago in two districts of Jawzjan province marks a new inroad in Afghanistan by Islamic State. Hekmat’s Taliban fighters had long held sway in Darz Aab and Qushtepa districts, with the Afghan government having little control, residents who fled to Shiberghan, some 120 km away (75 miles). When Hekmat had a falling-out with the central Taliban leadership and switched allegiance, his men were joined by about 400 IS-affiliated fighters from China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Chechnya and elsewhere, according to Darz Aab’s district chief, Baz Mohammad Dawar. Foreign militants have long operated in the border areas of Afghanistan, and in Jawzjan they had typically moved from place to place, occasionally cooperating with the Taliban. But once they came to stay, life changed for the worse, according to three families and local officials who spoke to Reuters, even by the war-weary standards of Afghanistan. “IS took our women as slaves, or forcefully made them marry a fighter. The Taliban never did that,” said Sayed Habibullah, a Darz Aab resident. “The Taliban had mercy and we spoke the same language, but IS fighters are foreigners, much more brutal and barbaric.” Jawzjan’s police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said, “Whether it is Islamic State or Taliban, they are our enemy. And they have to be eliminated.”

There were some recent reports that Taliban have captured the Baloch area and two security posts in Sherin Tagab district of northern Faryab province. This area was being held by pro-government militias. While Taliban have been putting up a fight and achieving some successes, ISKP is still giving hard time to Taliban in Nangarhar, where ISKP continues to claim more attacks every week, targeting both Afghan security forces as well as Taliban. See ISKP claims for minor and major attacks in Nangarhar. ISKP also recently released a photo report from Nangarhar purportedly showing ISKP battles against Taliban.

ISKP clashes with Taliban and Afghan security forces have also been receiving almost consistent coverage in Islamic State’s Al-Naba magazine. For instance, in issue # 108 of Al-Naba, IS mentioned in detail its ops against Taliban and Afghan forces in Nangarhar. In the same issue of Al-Naba, IS also claimed ISKP fighters have captured 18 villages in Khogyani, Nangarhar from Taliban. This is the same area where intense battles between Taliban and ISKP have been raging for last couple of months now.