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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Has ISIS-K, the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan-based affiliate, directly threatened the US?

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

By Stevie Rosignol-Cortez

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YES

The Islamic State Khorasan, the affiliate of the Islamic State group active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, presents an “enduring threat” to the U.S. homeland as well as allied interests in the region, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in 2018.

The group, sometimes referred to as ISIS-K or Daesh Khorasan, claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26, 2021, attack at Kabul’s airport, which killed at least 169 civilians and 13 U.S. service members. Earlier this year the group was involved in an attempted assassination of a U.S. diplomat in Kabul.

In 2018 CSIS noted the group’s sweeping vow to raise “the banner of al-Uqab above the White House." The banner is a solid black flag of symbolic importance in Islamic tradition.

CSIS noted that the group “has mocked and threatened the United States in its official media streams and called for lone-wolf attacks in the West.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Center for Strategic and International Studies Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) - 2018 analysis

White House Remarks by President Biden on the terror attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport

NPR The group ISIS-K claims responsibility for the deadly Kabul attack

CNN Afghanistan foils ISIS plan to assassinate the top US envoy to Kabul

Wikipedia Black Standard

International Institute for Strategic Studies The increasing presence of ISIS in South Asia

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.