More dangerous than Daesh, these terrorists are the new real threat weighing on France

Since the attack in Moscow, a terrorist group has become increasingly worried. Its members are known to be extremely violent.

The Moscow attack, which occurred on Friday March 22 and left 145 dead, highlighted in the starkest way the new terrorist threat that weighs on Europe and beyond. Although it shares several points in common with Daesh, which has sowed terror in the mid-2010s, notably with the 2015 attacks in France, it differs by its origin, but also by its background. While Daesh terrorists took refuge behind a pseudo "Islamic State" constituted between Syria and Iraq, the danger this time comes from Afghanistan.

This threat has recently emerged under the name EI-K. Born in 2014, the organization has drawn on taking advantage of the poor governance of the Afghan regime and the security vacuum caused by by the departure of the United States in August 2021, after 20 years of war following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Like her big sister, she aims à to establish a caliphate in the region from Pakistan to India. Uzbekistan. It must be said that the Islamic State of Khorasan, the name it has given itself, would be very close to the central branch of ISIS. The organization would have been created in Afghanistan by emissaries from Iraq and Syria. 

This relatively young branch is known for its extreme violence: assassinations, decapitations and torture are associated with it. oacute;s. Above all, it can still gain power, its members would be able to obtain "the funds they need", assured à l'AFPHans-Jakob Schindler, director of the NGO Counter Extremism project. According to a UN report dating from February 2022, ISIS-K is also in the process of spreading. ;éextend: "The numbers of the Islamic State of Iraq Levant-Khorasan would have increased from 2,200 , based on previous estimates, & nearly 4000, à following the release of several thousand prisoners.

The Moscow attack that occurred in March and claimed responsibility by the terrorist group, left 145 dead. © /AP/SIPA (published on 04/16/2024)

If the organization has often attacked the Taliban, new masters of Afghanistan since the American retreat, it has not &eac;savedé civilians. Last January, for example, EI-K seemedé terror in Iran, in the city of Kerman by killing at least 90 people during the commemoration of the four years of the death of General Qassem Soleimani. The terrorist group is also at risk. the origin of the attack against Kabul airport in August 2021 which took place in August 2021. life &agrav; more than 170 civilians. The Islamic State of Khorasan, which in Persian means "the&agrave henceù comes the sun", is thus consideredé as "the most bloodthirsty in Afghanistan", according to a 2023 note from the French Institute of International Relations. The United States is also monitoring him closely: the country accuses him of being a criminal. the origin of the deaths of American soldiers. 

EI-K s'has proven to be a real threat to internationally: “It has produced propaganda in more languages ​​than any other subsidiary since the height of the Caliphate ( self-proclaimed) in Iraq in Syria, analyzed with the AFP Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialized siteé Activist Wire. France would be one of the countries threatened by the organization: “It haséeé involved in several recent foiled attack plans in several European countries, including Germany and France&quot ;, had revealed Matignon à l'AFP after the Moscow attack.