Kabul airport attack sends message to Taliban not to work with US, Chinese expert says
- Bombings show Islamic State is taking advantage of chaos and warning the Taliban against a truce with the Americans, according to observers
- ‘The message is that Isis-K will not give up confrontation with the US like the Taliban,’ one expert says
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday that China was shocked by the explosions and condemned the attack.
“The security of Afghanistan is still complicated and grave,” Zhao said. “We hope relevant authorities can take proper measures to ensure the stable transition of Afghanistan, and protect the safety of the Afghan people and foreign nationals.”
The Chinese embassy in Kabul issued a notice urging Chinese citizens there to step up security and avoid going to the airport.
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Thirteen US service members including marines were among the casualties of the attacks, Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie Jnr said in Washington, while BBC and other media reported more than 60 deaths in the blasts on Thursday. Isis-K, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of extremist group Islamic State, claimed responsibility.
The attacks followed warnings by the US and other countries of potential attacks by the militant group at Hamid Karzai International Airport, where the US has been evacuating thousands of Americans, individuals from allied countries and Afghans with special visas, amid the withdrawal of American troops.
Yang Shu, former dean of Central Asia studies at Lanzhou University, said Isis-K was trying to show it was still influential in Afghanistan as the Taliban appeared to move closer to foreign governments.
“For Isis-K, the Taliban was supposed to be on the same page in confronting the US, but now it seems the Taliban is giving up its stance and may work with the US,” Yang said. “The message is that Isis-K will not give up confrontation with the US like the Taliban may have.”
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The attacks will add complications for the Taliban, which is facing mounting calls from major powers including China and Russia to cut off ties with terror groups.
“Over the past 20 years, some terror forces have been gathering in Afghanistan, posing a serious threat to global and regional security,” he said. “But it is regretted that the US has taken ETIM off its terror group list. China opposes the US applying a double standard in the fight against terrorism.”
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Yang said the Taliban would be “facing a very difficult situation” after the attacks. “The confrontations between the Taliban and the US will intensify,” he said. “Isis-K is giving a warning to the Taliban that it has the power to do something, and that the Taliban should not have any illusion of not confronting the US.”
“We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he warned Isis militants, before defending his administration’s decision to continue with the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan – agreed between the administration of his predecessor Donald Trump and the Taliban leadership, which controls most of the Central Asian nation.
Zhu Yongbiao, an expert on Afghanistan issues from Lanzhou University, said the chaos resulting from the withdrawal of American troops was an opportunity for Isis-K.
What is Isis-K in Afghanistan and how dangerous is the group?
“A stable Afghanistan is not good for these extremist groups,” Zhu said. “They are making use of chaos to plot attacks. Isis-K is expanding its influence, gaining more support from other terror groups to maintain rivalry with the Taliban and maintain its status as the second-largest extremist group in Afghanistan.”
Fighters claiming allegiance to Isis-K began appearing in eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, at the end of 2014, and the ultraradical Sunni movement soon expanded.
Daesh, as it is widely known in Afghanistan, established a reputation for extreme brutality as it fought the Taliban both for ideological reasons and for control of local smuggling and narcotics routes, according to Western intelligence services.
Sun Degang, an international affairs expert with Fudan University, said the attacks had repercussions for Beijing.
“China faces major threats to its investment and personnel safety in Afghanistan,” Sun said. “Its future participation in the reconstruction of Afghanistan will be affected by the worsened situation.”
Additional reporting by Jun Mai