The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISK): an assessment of current operations

The rise of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISK) from 2015 to the present began largely unnoticed as an insurgency in Afghanistan and has recently been observed as a growing terrorist threat around the globe. This assessment examines the historical precedent, evolution, and strategic objectives of ISK by way of delving into its origins in the jihadist extremist template, and into its operations by area, which increasingly are those outside of its immediate provincial boundaries, expanding into regional and beyond. Tied to its kinetic operations is a robust and modern media capability and strategy that is serving to elevate the status of the group, enable it a global networked capacity, and draw recruits and other resources. While remaining tied to the hierarchy of IS central, ISK is free to perpetuate extremist ideology and brutal tactics as envisioned by early IS originator Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The upward cycle of, and battlefield momentum gained by ISK in both the physical world and online presents both a challenge and an urgent necessity for counter-terrorism strategies in both temporal realms.