Islamic State–Taliban conflict

The Islamic State is waging an ongoing insurgency against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.

The conflict began in 2015 following the creation of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP), a regional branch of the Islamic State. IS-KP and the Taliban started to clash over control of territory during the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021), mostly in eastern Afghanistan but also through cells in the north-west and south-west. The Haqqani network, al-Qaeda and others supported the Taliban, while IS was supported by the Mullah Dadullah Front and the pro-ISIS faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. IS-KP had lost territory to both the Taliban and the former republican government, with American support, by 2020. Following the Taliban capture of Kabul in 2021, IS-KP have continued its insurgent attacks against the new Taliban regime.

As of October 2024 IS-KP is the largest and most powerful of the terror groups active in Afghanistan, with the Taliban appearing to view IS-KP as the primary threat to their rule. As of June 2026, BBC Monitoring reported that IS-KP is severely crippled and only a "shadow of its former self.'

Background

During the original stint in power of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the ruling Taliban had pursued a policy of suppressing Salafism; motivated by strict Deobandi tenets.