Islamic State Khorasan: The Afghan Threat — Giuliano Bifolchi

1. 5. 2024

This episode of The IR thinker examines the emergence and evolution of Islamic State – Khurasan Province (IS-Khurasan), exploring its origins, territorial framing, strategic goals and relations with the Taliban and local communities. The discussion with Dr Giuliano Bifolchi looks at recruitment patterns, financing, cyber activities and the role of wider geopolitical tensions and great-power competition in shaping the group’s trajectory.

Giuliano Bifolchi

Giuliano Bifolchi is an intelligence and geopolitics specialist with more than a decade of experience in strategic consulting, due diligence and open-source intelligence. He is Professor of Web Intelligence and Open Source Intelligence at the European Forensic Institute and serves as Senior Intelligence Analyst at SpecialEurasia.

Publications:

Analysis of The Voice of Khurasan First Issue in the Tajik Language

Storia del Caucaso del Nord tra presenza russa, Islam e terrorismo

Conflitto in Ucraina: rischio geopolitico, propaganda jihadista e minaccia per l’Europa

Giuliano Bifolchi, GEOPOLITICA DEL CAUCASO RUSSO

Content

00:00 - Introduction
01:38 - Differentiating Khurasan from the Islamic State Wilayat Khurasan (IS-Khurasan)
04:49 - Origins and Establishment of IS-Khurasan
06:45 - Significance of Incorporating Territory Names in Islamic State Titles
09:41 - Identifying Strategic Goals of IS-Khurasan
12:21 - Relationship Dynamics between the Taliban and IS-Khurasan
17:35 - Perceptions of IS-Khurasan within the Pashtun Community
20:34 - Potential Allies of IS-Khurasan
23:36 - Recruitment Strategies and Appeal to Followers
28:17 - Objectives of IS-Khurasan in Tajikistan
34:58 - Moscow’s Influence: Migration Patterns and Islamic Finance
40:03 - Primary Sources of Finance for IS-Khurasan
42:26 - IS-Khurasan’s Activities in the Cyber Domain
44:40 - Contrasting Innovative and Traditional Counterterrorism Approaches
48:16 - Roles of the EU, USA, Russia, and China in the Region
52:21 - Impact of Global Events on IS-Khurasan’s Strength
57:03 - Recommendations for Further Research Areas