KABUL (TCA) — The Taliban and the Islamic State are engaged in heavy fighting for control of Afghanistan, and this rivalry meets security interests of Russia and its Central Asian allies. We are republishing this article on the issue, written by Waliullah Rahmani, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Terrorism Monitor:

Fierce fighting between the Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), the Afghan chapter of IS, have seen hundreds of militants killed in Jowzjan and Faryab provinces, two provinces in northern Afghanistan considered to be IS-K strongholds. About 300 militants were killed in two weeks of clashes between IS-K and the Taliban, which began on July 25 in the Darzab district of Jowzjan. It was the Taliban’s third major offensive against their rivals, and saw about 200 IS-K fighters hand themselves over to government forces rather than face the Taliban. Video footage from August 1, released by the government, showed IS-K fighters demanding protection in return for their surrender (Khabarnama, August 2).

The Taliban reportedly attacked IS-K forces, inflicting heavy losses on the group. Senior commanders on both sides were killed in the fighting. A spokesperson for the Jowzjan governor told local outlets that Haji Qumandan, the deputy leader of IS-K in northern Afghanistan, had been killed. The governor also reported the deaths of many senior Taliban members, including Haji Shakir, the district chief for Sangcharak district of Sar-e Pol (Khabarnama, July 25). An earlier report on July 18 claimed that two IS-K fighters targeted a Taliban gathering in Sayyad district of Sar-e Pol, killing 15 Taliban militants and wounding five others (Khabarnama, July 18).

Sar-e Pol, Jowzjan and Faryab are not the only provinces where the Taliban and IS-K have engaged in heavy clashes. The fighting appears to be a growing trend that has hit record levels of violence in the last three years following emergence of IS-K in Afghanistan. While a truce of sorts appears to be in place between the two groups in Afghanistan’s southwestern and southern provinces, in the north it appears to be the Taliban’s intention to eliminate IS-K forces entirely (Khabarnama, July 2018).

Darzab: IS-K’s Northern Stronghold

IS-K has come to dominate Darzab district in the southwest of Jowzjan province in northern Afghanistan—to the west lies Sar-e Pol province, while Faryab province is to the east. As of 2012, the district had a population of 52,800 people (IFPS, August, 2012). IS-K’s presence in northern Afghanistan began to emerge in 2015, when Qari Hekmat, a former Taliban commander in the north, shifted allegiance to IS-K and started recruiting local insurgents and building alliances (AAN, March 4). The group’s fighters are dominant in Darzab, having sidelined the Taliban and other armed actors there. The district faces many reports of IS-K carrying out killings, attacking international aid workers, beating teenagers, preventing female education and exploiting mineral resources (Tolonews, December 9, 2017; Tolonews, July, 5, 2017; khabarnama, February 8, 2017; 1tvnews, April 17).

It is unclear why IS-K has focused its energies on Darzab, Qush Tepa and the rest of Jowzjan province. Bashir Ahmad Tahyanj, a member of parliament from Faryab province, however, told The Jamestown Foundation that Darzab’s strategic geography, coupled with the local population’s highly conservative views, have paved the way for IS-K’s emergence.

IS-K first began to seriously establish its presence in Darzab district in early 2017. In June that year, two groups of Taliban fighters who had switched allegiance to IS-K staged a series of attacks on government outposts in Darzab. In those battles, IS-K fighters killed at least 10 government fighters and many civilians (AVA, April 10, 2017).

Since then, three major battles have taken place between Taliban and IS-K fighters. The first major attack took place in the second half of October 2017. The Taliban had mobilized hundreds of fighters from several provinces to oust Qari Hekmat and his forces from Darzab (AAN, November 11, 2017). The second military offensive of Taliban insurgents against IS-K fighters took place within four months, but again failed to recapture the territorial control of Darzab district. Qari Hekmat and his forces survived the attack, which lasted for around 10 days starting from January 19, 2018, and involved hundreds of Taliban fighters. In early April, Qari Hekmat was reportedly killed in a U.S.-Afghan joint raid in the north, but even without their leader IS-K survived a third Taliban attack on the district.

Composition of IS-K in Darzab

The presence of foreign fighters among IS-K in Darzab and other northern provinces is an additional concern. In August 2017, the Jowzjan police chief confirmed the presence of foreign fighters including Chechens and Uzbeks—like the prominent Aziz Yuldashev, son of Tahir Yuldashev—along with Pakistani and even Uyghur fighters on the battlefields of Darzab, fighting against Afghan government forces (Khabarnama, August 25, 2017).

Abdul Ahad Elbek, the Faryab deputy provincial council chief, had reported that Russian and Tajikistani citizens were present alongside other IS-K fighters in the battlefields of Jowzjan and Faryab. It would be weeks before Afghan senior security officials confirmed the presence of these foreign fighters in Jowzjan. (Khabarnama, August 10, 2017).

Soon after the claims of foreign fighters’ involvement in Darzab district by local officials in northern Afghanistan, another report emerged in December 2017 stating that Algerian and French fighters had joined IS-K in Darzab. The report bolstered fears of a growing presence of foreign fighters among IS-K militants in that area (Tolonews, December 10, 2017).

IS-K’s ranks in northern Afghanistan¬—particularly in Darzab, Qush Tepa and other Jowzjan and Faryab districts—are an unusual combination of foreign and Afghan fighters. This has attracted the attention of the Afghan government and international forces, which have been concerned about northern Afghanistan becoming a destination for IS fighters fleeing the battlefields of Iraq and Syria. Moreover, the trend has also concerned Russians and citizens of Central Asia who are part of the broader picture of the IS-K formation in northern Afghanistan.

Roots of Resentment

The Taliban made clear its unwillingness to tolerate IS-K from the day the group first emerged in 2015. In early October that year, Taliban officials announced the formation of an elite force—one that insurgents claimed was better trained and equipped than regular Taliban fighters—and deployed it to provinces where IS-K had emerged (BBC Persian, December 23, 2015).

The Taliban then began a broad offensive against IS-K affiliated groups. In late November, insurgents brutally killed IS-K members in Zabol province (Pazhwok, November 9, 2015). Ahead of Zabol in June 2015, they crushed IS-K fighters in western Farah province. Later, the Afghan national army would say IS-K had been stamped out from the province entirely (al-Arabia, June 1, 2015). Since then, there have been no reports of IS-K activities in Farah and other western provinces bordering Iran. Some believe the Taliban had been subcontracted by Iran to ensure the provinces remains free of the group.

Fighting between the Taliban and IS-K continued into the following years in other areas of Afghanistan. In 2016, Nangarhar emerged as a major IS-K stronghold and became the focus of the Taliban. Fighting between the two insurgent groups resulted in a large number of casualties, although interestingly the Taliban found it was unable to eliminate the IS-K Nangahar strongholds. Instead, in many areas, IS-K emerged as a dominant player, controlling wider areas of land and winning territory from the Taliban (BBC Persian, January 6, 2016). Clashes between the Taliban and IS-K continued, even as the Afghan government and U.S.-led international forces targeted IS-K with the “mother of all bombs” and killed IS-K leaders (BBC Persian, May 7, 2017).

In contrast to the Taliban’s success against IS-K in south and western Afghanistan, the group has failed to suppress IS-K fighters and eliminate their strongholds in eastern and northern parts of the country.

The Role of Russia

Concurrent with IS-K emergence in Afghanistan, Russia has continuously developed its relations with the Taliban. In April 2016, a senior Russian official confirmed his country’s relations with the group but denied any cooperation with them (Azadi Radio, April 11, 2016). Russia’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told the press that his country’s concern about IS-K is the main reason for Moscow’s contacts with the Taliban (BBC Persian, December 26, 2016). In fact, Russia’s concerns go further. Moscow is continuously engaged in discussions with regional players, including Pakistan and China, to address regional security and the risk of IS-K infiltration into the Central Asian region (8am, April 1, 2016).

Afghan experts believe Russia first started talks with the Taliban in 2006, urging the group to fight the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and counter drugs trafficking to Central Asia (VOA Dari, November 13, 2016). No official sources confirm Moscow’s relations with the Taliban as early as 2006, although Russians in more recent years have been vocal about their country’s channels of communication with the Taliban. This has led to assumptions that the Taliban’s aggressive stance against IS-K in northern Afghanistan, particularly in the Darzab district of Jowjzan, might be due to Moscow’s involvement. If true, utilizing the Taliban as a proxy against IS-K in Afghanistan seems to be a double-edged sword for the Russians who are putting at risk their relations with Kabul. Moreover, such a tactical stance only strengthens the Taliban, which still brutally kills Afghan and international forces and is responsible for thousands of civilian casualties every year.

Russia has been uncompromising in its stance toward Islamic State, and Moscow is doubtless concerned about the emergence of IS-K in Afghanistan. The heavy Russian military presence in Tajikistan and its involvement with the Taliban clearly illustrates that Moscow sees IS-K as a strategic threat both to Russia and Moscow’s wider “security belt” throughout Central Asia.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — A delegation of the Taliban led by the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar visited Uzbekistan from August 6-10 for talks with senior officials from Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, Taliban and Uzbek officials said.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — An official launch of improved drinking water supply service took place in Bagysh municipality of Jalal-Abad province in southern Kyrgyzstan on August 9. A new 3245-meter water pipeline was installed, a 500 m3 reservoir was reconstructed at water intake facilities, a 180-meter-deep well was drilled, and a new deep-well pump with electronic control was installed. Water pipelines have been installed in 848 households and now more than 5,800 inhabitants of Oktyabrskoye and Kedey-Aryk villages of the Bagysh municipality have access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day, the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic reported.

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AKTAU, Kazakhstan (TCA) — At their summit in the Kazakh port city of Aktau on August 12, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan signed the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, after more than two decades of discussions.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Labor migrants are the main source of remittance to Kyrgyzstan. If it were not for their money, the country’s GDP would have decreased by a third, including budget revenues and wages, Economy Minister Oleg Pankratov said at the fourth Mekendeshter (Compatriots) Forum held on August 8-9 in Cholpon-Ata, a resort city at Lake Issyk-Kul.

About 200 compatriots from 27 countries participated in the meeting, organized by the Initiatives of Roza Otunbayeva Public Foundation with the support from the Swiss Bureau for International Cooperation. Representatives of diasporas and compatriots living abroad shared their experience in implementing social and business projects in Kyrgyzstan and told their success stories.

Earning abroad

According to official data, about 800,000 Kyrgyz citizens are working abroad, mostly in Russia. According to unofficial data, the figure exceeds one million. Their remittances to the homeland amount to about $2.5 billion annually.

Over the first half of 2018, the total inflow of remittances to Kyrgyzstan exceeded $1.2 billion, 13% more compared to the same period last year. Traditionally, the largest volume of remittances was from labor migrants from Russia followed by USA and Kazakhstan.

According to the World Bank, one from three persons lives below the poverty line in Kyrgyzstan’s villages. Most of the rural population receives income from agriculture and remittances from relatives working abroad.

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic forecasts an increase in the inflow of remittances from labor migrants this year.

Modern phenomenon?

“The fact that many of our compatriots are living and working in different countries is not a tragedy but a modern phenomenon. They master new technologies and study democracy, and learn to develop. Therefore, we should use their experience and intellectual potential. We need to properly manage migration and benefit from it,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the initiator of the forum and ex-President of Kyrgyzstan.

Labor migration is a temporary phenomenon, Economy Minister Pankratov believes. The Government should ensure that people, having gained experience and capital, were able to return home and work in Kyrgyzstan. The Government is now planning to stimulate the economy’s transition to industrial development. The largest number of jobs is generated in the industrial sector, primarily in the processing and light industry, he said.

The money that comes from labor migrants does not replenish the loss of the able-bodied population and the demographic gap in the country. If the migration continues in Kyrgyzstan, a situation may arise when the number of elderly people would prevail over the young population, experts say.

Council under the President

President of Kyrgyzstan attended the Compatriots’ Forum for the first time in its history since 2012. President Sooronbai Jeenbekov showed that he is seriously concerned about the problems of migrants and wants to help them.

“There are successful compatriots who have achieved much abroad and are going to invest in large investment projects in Kyrgyzstan, as well as to attract serious investments into our economy,” Jeenbekov said.

Such patriotic contemporaries need a single platform for solving problems and achieving common goals. Jeenbekov proposed to create a Council under the President which would work with fellow-investors on an ongoing basis. The State will always support compatriots, he stressed.

The creation of the Council could settle the situation and keep it under control, experts say.

It is expected that the Council will include the Cabinet members involved in the migration issues, as well as representatives of the diasporas and the Presidential administration.

Initiatives of compatriots

The forum participants expressed concern that their children and grandchildren would forget their native language, culture and traditions.

They proposed to simplify the procedure for obtaining citizenship for ethnic Kyrgyz. They suggested introducing of a “meken-card” system (system of temporary suspension of citizenship). Citizens involved in this system will not be able to exercise their rights to vote or to be elected as well as to work in state bodies, but all other civil rights will be retained for them. In case of return, they will be able to regain their citizenship.

Entrepreneurs working in Russia offered to open representative offices of the Investment Promotion and Protection Agency of Kyrgyzstan in major Russian cities. If the Investment Agency has projects, Entrepreneurs abroad could discuss them and offer their Russian partners.

Many compatriots are ready to invest in Kyrgyzstan but the State should create conditions and provide support for them, for instance, tax incentives. Foreign compatriots who come to Kyrgyzstan and try to open their business here face various difficulties and obstacles. Despite the fact that they bring in investments from abroad, they have no benefits and work in Kyrgyzstan as ordinary companies.

The country’s future

After Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1992, compatriots went abroad mainly to earn money. “But now many compatriots glorify Kyrgyzstan in science, education and culture,” President Jeenbekov said.

In the near future, a meeting of the National Council will be held, at which the long-term Development Strategy of the country will be discussed, which provides concrete steps aimed at rendering real support to compatriots abroad, the President said. The ideas and proposals voiced at the forum will be taken into account, he added.

According to the President, the society should preserve and multiply Kyrgyzstan’s historical heritage and be merciful to orphans, old people and the needy.

“In our society, there should not be homeless old people and abandoned children,” Jeenbekov said.

The creation of new jobs and the elimination of unemployment are the main goals of the State, he said. For these purposes, the State conducts an uncompromising fight against corruption, and various gray schemes are eliminated. Efforts are being made to ensure transparency in the tax and customs spheres. The state takes steps to support exports of goods, helping businesses access major markets.

The President told compatriots about recent measures to support labor migrants, especially those living and working in the Eurasian Economic Union member countries. The problems of labor migrants in Russia related to the registration and obtaining patents were resolved. Members of migrant families will be provided with pensions and medical services. The issue of providing pensions for Kyrgyz citizens working in Turkey was also resolved. An appropriate agreement was signed, which will soon be ratified and come into force.

Legislative amendments have been made to exempt new industrial enterprises in the country’s regions from property tax, income tax and land tax for a period from 5 to 10 years. The Government plans to introduce a three-year moratorium on inspections of new enterprises by the tax and supervisory authorities.

The President urged compatriots to participate in building new enterprises to process environmentally friendly agricultural products. The demand for such products is high in foreign markets.

“We need to adopt a package of laws supporting our compatriots,” the President concluded.