This article is a list, arranged by year, of terrorist attacks that have been attributed to or claimed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province.
Overview The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K) is a regional branch of the Islamic State terrorist group active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan. ISIS–K, like its sister branches in other regions, seeks to destabilize and overthrow existing governments of the historic Khorasan region to establish an Islamic caliphate under its strict, fundamentalist Islamist rule.
ISIS–K has conducted numerous high-profile attacks against civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Some of its most notable attacks include a suicide bombing in August 2021 that killed 13 American military personnel and least 169 Afghans in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from the country, twin suicide bombings in July 2018 that killed at least 131 at election rallies in Pakistan, and twin bombings in July 2016 that killed 97 Hazara protestors in downtown Kabul.
ISIS–K began with the dispatch of Afghan and Pakistani militants from al-Qaeda-aligned groups to the Syrian Civil War, who returned to the region with instructions and funding to recruit fighters for a branch of the Islamic State in the Khorasan region. The group's traditional base of power began and remains in eastern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan. While the majority of ISIS–K attacks occur in eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, the group has claimed to have fired rockets into Afghanistan's northern neighbors, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and conducted high-profile attacks in Iran and Russia.
Today, ISIS–K is engaged in a protracted, low-intensity conflict with the Taliban government. Though the Taliban and ISIS–K actively fought against the United States, since the U.S. withdrawal, ISIS–K has shifted its efforts to discredit, destabilize, and overthrow the Taliban regime to establish its envisioned Islamic caliphate. The Taliban, on the other hand, make efforts to target ISIS–K militants through violent raids, protect foreign diplomats and investors from ISIS–K attacks, and publicly downplay the presence of ISIS to attract foreign recognition and investment.
2015
CountryDateArticleLocationDescriptionDeadInjured18 April 20152015 Jalalabad suicide bombingJalalabad, NangarharA suicide bomber detonated outside a bank in Jalalabad.3310013 May 20152015 Karachi bus shootingKarachi, SindhA group of 8 gunmen attacked a bus in Karachi. Claim disputed.45+Dozens
2016
CountryDateArticleLocationDescriptionDeadInjured13 January 2016Jalalabad, NangarharThree attackers belonging to ISIS–K launched an attack on Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The attack resulted in death of seven members of Afghan security forces.7020 June 2016Kabul attack on Canadian Embassy guardsKabulA suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Canadian embassy security guards. Both ISIS–K and the Taliban claimed responsibility.15+ or 16 (+1)923 July 2016July 2016 Kabul bombingKabulTwo suicide bombers blew themselves up during a protest by the Hazara ethnic minority, in Kabul's deadliest attack since 2001972608 August 2016August 2016 Quetta attacksQuetta, BalochistanMultiple attackers carried out a suicide bombing and shooting at a government hospital where lawyers were gathered. (Also claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar)94130+24 October 2016CharsaddaAn intelligence officer was shot dead. The attack was later claimed by ISIS–K in a statement posted on Amaq.1024 October 2016October 2016 Quetta attacksQuetta, BalochistanThree armed individuals carried out mass shooting at police cadets at the Quetta Police Training College while they were asleep. One attacker killed during operation while other two blew themselves up, killing 61 cadets. (Also claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi)61160+26 October 2016GhorFighters killed at least 30 civilians after abducting them in the Afghan province of Ghor.30026 October 2016Jalalabad, NangarharAn ISIS–K suicide bomber killed a number of Afghan tribal elders.4–15254 November 2016GhorISIS–K executed 31 civilians in Ghor Province.3105 November 2016GhorISIS–K abducted at least 6 civilians in Ghor province.06 kidnapped12 November 20162016 Khuzdar bombingKhuzdar, BalochistanAt least 55 people including women and children were killed when a suicide bomber went off in the crowded Shah Noorani Shrine in Hub town, Lasbela District, Balochistan.55 (+1)102+16 November 2016KabulA suicide bomber blew himself up in a convoy with members of the Afghan National Security Forces, near the Defense ministry.6 (+1)1521 November 2016KabulA suicide bombing at a Kabul Shia mosque "Baqir-ul-Olum."30 (+1)1525 November 2016Jalalabad, NangarharMultiple bombs exploded in Jalalabad city.62710 December 2016PeshawarISIS–K has claimed responsibility for killing a counterterrorism police officer and wounding his son in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.11
2017
CountryDateArticleLocationDescriptionDeadInjured7 February 2017KabulA suicide blast at Afghanistan's Supreme Court in Kabul. ISIS–K claimed responsibility.22418 February 2017Qush Tepa, JowzjanISIS–K killed six local employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Qush Tepa district in Afghanistan. The assailants also took another two workers with them.62 kidnapped16 February 20172017 Sehwan suicide bombingSehwan, SindhA suicide bombing at a shrine in southern Pakistan.90 (+1)2508 March 2017March 2017 Kabul attackKabulA group of gunmen dressed in white hospital robes attacked the Sardar Daud Khan Hospital.496312 April 2017KabulA suicide bomber attacked near government offices in Kabul. ISIS–K claimed responsibility for the attack.5 (+1)103 May 2017KabulA suicide car bomber detonated next to a convoy of NATO vehicles near the U.S. embassy in Kabul.8 (+1)2817 May 2017Jalalabad, NangarharFour civilians and two police officers were killed when ISIS–K militants stormed a TV station in Jalalabad. Two militants blew themselves up and the other two have taken hostages. They were later killed by the police.6 (+4)171 June 2017Jalalabad, NangarharA car bomb went off outside the airport in Jalalabad.1530 June 2017Achin, NangarharSeven civilians were killed and five others wounded when a bomb planted by ISIS–K militants blew up in the Achin district of Nangarhar province.7525 July 2017Sar-e Pol CityMilitants affiliated with ISIS–K beheaded a man allegedly over sorcery in the capital of the northern province of Sar-e-Pol.1031 July 2017KabulISIS–K militants committed an attack on the Iraqi Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul. One terrorist blew himself up and another three entered the embassy. Two Afghan guards were killed and three others injured in the attack.2 (+4)31 August 20172017 Herat mosque attackHeratTwo suicide bombers attacked a Shia mosque in Herat. One of the bombers shot at worshipers with a rifle before detonating himself.33 (+2)6630 August 2017Jalalabad, NangarharA suicide bomber detonated his explosives in front of the house of an Afghan MP in Jalalabad. The explosion killed two guards and injured another one. A second attacker was killed before he could detonate himself.2 (+2)120 October 201720 October 2017 Afghanistan attacksDu Layna, GhorA suicide bombing in a Sunni mosque of Ghor Province. The main target of the attack was a local commander from the anti-Taliban Jamiat party.33 (+1)1020 October 2017KabulA suicide bomber attacked inside a Shia mosque in Kabul.56 (+1)5531 October 2017KabulAn ISIS–K suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul.14 (+1)137 November 2017KabulA TV building was attacked in downtown Kabul by three militants. An employee and a security guard were killed. At least one militant blew himself up while the others were killed during a gunfight with security forces. ISIS–K claimed responsibility for the attack.2 (+3)2016 November 2017KabulAt least 19 people including eight police officers and ten civilians were killed in a bomb explosion outside a restaurant in Kabul.191018 December 2017KabulGunmen attacked a training center of the National Directorate of Security in Kabul, injuring two policemen. All three attackers were gunned downed.0 (+3)225 December 2017KabulA suicide bomb attack near the compound of Afghanistan's intelligence agency in Kabul.10 (+1)528 December 2017December 2017 Kabul suicide bombingKabulA suicide bomber stormed a Shi'ite cultural center and news agency in the Afghan capital, killing and wounding some including a number of students attending a conference. Two other bombs were detonated in the zone.50 (+1)80
2018