By Ankit Panda
The Taliban want to make it clear for ISIS: Afghanistan’s only big enough for one of them. And it’s not ISIS.
A few months after Mosul fell in Iraq last summer and the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS) rose to prominence, we began hearing murmurs that ISIS had spread eastward, into Afghanistan. The extent of ISIS’ activities and presence in Afghanistan remain ambiguous, but the Taliban have started to feel the group’s impact. This week, the Taliban warned Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State and its self-styled caliph, that “jihad against the Americans and their allies [in Afghanistan] must be conducted under one flag and one leadership.” The Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan largely remain loyal to Mullah Omar, the group’s reclusive leader who holds the title of Amir al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful).
The Taliban’s letter added that ”The Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] does not consider the multiplicity of jihadi ranks beneficial either for jihad or for Muslims.” It continued: “Your decisions made from a distance will result in [the Islamic State] losing support of religious scholars, mujahideen… and in order to defend its achievements the Islamic Emirate will be forced to react.” The letter was signed by the Taliban’s deputy leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor. The letter was published on the Taliban’s website in several languages, including Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, and Dari. The group did not outline the consequences of the Islamic States’ continuing bid to increase its influence in Afghanistan.
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