Richard Hanania, president and founder of Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, said Thursday that terrorist group ISIS-K, an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, is the “most likely suspect” for the two deadly explosions in Kabul.
In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Hanania said while the affiliation of the attackers is not confirmed, the ISIS affiliate is the top suspect since the Taliban now control the country.
“Nothing about the Taliban or how it’s behaved suggests it would be them at this point,” he said. “They seem pretty committed to getting the U.S. out and making it as easy as possible for the U.S. to get out. So undertaking a suicide attack at this time would not make a lot of sense.”
Hanania added that ISIS-K is more extreme and internationally focused, whereas the Taliban think more locally.
The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that a pair of explosions hit the Afghan capital amid U.S. evacuation efforts. Multiple U.S. service members are among the dead.
While not much information has been released about the attack, Hanania says he believes if ISIS-K is responsible, they are trying to “throw a wrench in the withdrawal plans.”
He added that ISIS-K is in a weak position as the Taliban are “going to have the prestige of having expelled the foreign invader.”
“I think that [ISIS-K’s] best hope of actually staying relevant is if the U.S. stays,” Hanania said.
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