James Snell

Is Isis to blame for the Pakistan mosque bombing?

The chaotic aftermath of the mosque bombing (Credit: Torghar Police)

The Islamic State may have been driven out of its capitals in Iraq’s Mosul and Syria’s Raqqa but that doesn’t mean it has disappeared. In the Philippines, West Africa, and most obviously in Afghanistan, the terror group is thriving. Isis’s tentacles have also spread to Pakistan.

Over the weekend, in Peshawar, a terrible bombing took place in a mosque. At least 95 are dead, and hundreds have been injured. It remains unclear who is to blame for this atrocity, but, tragically, it is not the first time a place of worship has been targeted. In March 2022, the Afghan detachment of Isis bombed a Shia Mosque in Peshawar. More than 60 people were killed in that attack and nearly 200 injured. 

In Pakistan, as in other countries where Isis has support, weak governments, a general tide of violence and the state sponsorship of other armed groups have created a witches’ brew ideal for the terror group to take root in.

Written by
James Snell

James Snell is a senior advisor for special initiatives at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. His upcoming book, Defeat, about the failure of the war in Afghanistan and the future of terrorism, will be published by Gibson Square next year.

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