Who are Isis-K and how are they different to Isis?
PRESIDENT Joe Biden cited Isis-K as a reason for speeding up the US evacuation from Afghanistan
The and splinter groups such as Isis-K are fighting for control of Afghanistan as Nato troops withdraw from the country. So who are Isis-K and what are they doing?
Who are Isis-K?
of the (Isil) that has been operating in eastern since 2014.
According to a US security think-tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS], the group is allegedly responsible for a hundred attacks on civilians in Afghanistan and between 2015 and 2017.
It launched 250 attacks on US, Pakistani and Afghan forces and according to a United Nations report, has "between 500 and 1,200 fighters" with some experts saying that number could rise to 10,000 in the coming years.
The and is believed to be evacuating from the capital's Hamid Karzai airport.
Isis-K initially drew its fighters from disenfranchised Taliban soldiers in Pakistan.
It's understood many Taliban fighters defected to Isis-K after being unhappy with their leadership's lack of success on the battlefield at the time while looking at Isil victories in Syria with envy.
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Isis-K is a sworn enemy of the Taliban and the two have repeatedly clashed.
Unlike the Afghan Taliban, whose focus remains on Afghanistan, ISIS-K has declared it wants to attack United Nations and western powers.
The group has a strong presence in provinces bordering Pakistan but is causing concern among the Taliban for its ability to strike Kabul.
How are Isis-K different to Isis?
The group first emerged in 2014 as a splinter cell from another terror group, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - often known simply as the Pakistani Taliban.
Isis-K and the Taliban have a bitter relationship with the former believing the Taliban's version of Sharia law - a form of Islamic laws and traditions - is too soft.
The group was the target of US airstrikes before withdrew its troops and air capabilities in August 2021.
Isis-K is a self-proclaimed branch of Isil active in South and Central Asia, though ISIL denies any connection, according to a post.
In 2015, it appointed former Pakistan Taliban chief Hafiz Saeed Khan as its leader and former Afghan Taliban commander Abdul Rauf Aliza as its deputy.
What does Isis-K mean?
The jihadi group are present in an area known as Khorasan province in Afghanistan, hence the acronym Isis-K.
The extremists are a major concern to the US and in his speech in August 2021, President suggested the group was planning an attack on Kabul airport.
Biden said in a speech on August 24, 2021: "Every day we’re on the ground is another day that we know Isis-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both US and allied forces and innocent civilians."
Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the risk of Isis-K carrying out an attack on the airport was "real, acute" and "persistent".
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Sullivan told CNN: "It is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal."
US officials told the that attacks could come in the form of a missile launch on an evacuating plane or suicide bombers attempting to blend in with the crowds trying to leave Afghanistan via Kabul airport.