ISIS-K, the terrorist group accused of attacking Moscow, planned to attack the Qatar 2022 World Cup

The brutal attack perpetrated by at least four people in the complex Moscow Crocus City Hall, where the rock band Piknik was about to play and which has so far caused the death of 133 people, has as its main target the terrorist organization ISIS-K. Although the Russian president Vladimir Putin He didn’t mention them in his message and just talked about them Ukraine, The group has already claimed responsibility for the attack, which the United States had warned about. This group also recently had the major football event as its objective: it had planned to attack the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in which the Argentine national team was consecrated.

On Friday evening, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack with a message released by the agency Amakof the jihadist group, on its channel Telegram: “ISIS-K fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, outside the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing widespread destruction there before retreating safely to their bases.

Isis-Khorasan (ISKP) also claimed responsibility for organizing the attack in Iran in January this year, an action that caused 84 deaths near the tomb of General Qasem Soleimani, whose fourth anniversary of his assassination was commemorated by of the United States.

But before these two attacks, the terrorist group, very active in Afghanistan, had carried out one of its first operations in August 2021. When Joe Biden’s administration began its withdrawal from that country, after 20 years of invasion by the United States, ISIS-K carried out suicide attack at Kabul airport. It killed 170 Afghans and 13 American soldiers. Then the group began to grow and expand along the Afghan slopes.

In April 2023, following the leak of US intelligence documents published by Washington Post, the Pentagon had information that Afghanistan had become a new theater of terrorism. Also among the documents were targets such as embassies, churches and others FIFA World Cup in Qatarwhich attracted more than 2 million viewers, won by Argentina thanks to Lionel Messi.

After ISIS-K attack on Moscow, Qatar World Cup data retrieved by British newspaper’s defense and security editor CaretakerDan Sabbagh.

“‘ISIS has developed a profitable model for external operations that relies on resources from outside Afghanistan, agents in target countries, and extensive facilitation networks,’ says the assessment, which is labeled top secret and brings the logos of several Defense departments. “The model will likely allow ISIS to overcome obstacles – such as relevant security services – and reduce some plot timelines, minimizing opportunities for disruption.”details the article he published Washington Post.

The North American media revelation was based on the leak of a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who shared the information on the messaging and live streaming application. Discord. Those 2020 documents indicate that ISIS-K sought to “gain experience for.” create chemical weapons and use dronesand a plot in which the group’s supporters would kidnap Iraqi diplomats in Belgium or France in an attempt to secure the release of 4,000 imprisoned militants.

“The documents also detail ISIS-K’s response to several recent world events, including consideration of send a suicide bomber to Qatar attack last year’s World Cup,” say the revelations published by the North American newspaper in April 2023.

In November 2022, six days before the start of the World Cup, the warning of a possible attack by ISIS-K was not only notified to Qatar, but also reached the media. On November 14th several newspapers, such as The reason (Spain), published ISIS-K’s threat to the Arab state of West Asia. Through the channels of Telegramfollowers of the terrorist group spoke of a “golden opportunity.”

But in addition to the World Cup, in which they could not carry out any attacks, the militants also planned violent responses to the burning of the Koran by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands. “These plots included calls for attacks against Swedish or Dutch diplomatic facilities in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey and other countries, according to the leaked documents, although no such attacks appear to have been carried out.”public Washington Post.

Beyond recalling the planning of massive attacks that could not be carried out, in the event that ISIS-K’s responsibility for the Moscow attack was confirmed, the panorama would become more unsafe for everyone. “Whatever the West’s broader relationship with Moscow, counterterrorism researchers know it’s time to be especially vigilant,” notes the editor of CaretakerDan Sabbagh.

The origin of the letter K in the new ISIS

To understand the fear of this terrorist group it is necessary to establish the coordinates of ISIS-K. The organization grew and spread into Afghanistan after the United States left that territory in August 2021. That’s when Joe Biden’s presidency haphazardly ordered its withdrawal after 20 years of occupation.

ISIS-K militants are Sunnis, the majority branch of Islam. They consider the Shiites, but especially Iran, to be enemies. They seek to form an independent Caliphate with lands from Syria and Iraq, aiming to reconstruction of Khorasan province. From there the letter K in its acronym.

The ancient province of Khorasan extended into the current province of the same name in Iran, but also occupied territories of Uzbekistan, other large territories of Tajikistan and practically all of western Afghanistan.

However, the attack in Russia may have been due to an old grudge dating back to 2015, when Putin’s government went to war in Syria to support the regime of Bashar al Assad, Iran’s undisputed ally. Together they fought ISIS.