Lashkar-e-Islam

Lashkar-e-Islam
لشكرِ اسلام
FounderMufti Munir Shakir
LeadersMufti Munir Shakir (2004–2006)
Mangal Bagh †[1][2](2006–2021)
Zala Khan Afridi[3](2021–present)
Dates of operationDecember 2004 – present
HeadquartersNangarhar[4][5]
IdeologyDeobandi Islamism
StatusDesignated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan[6]
Size500 (2016)[7]
Allies

Formerly:

Opponents
Battles and warsInsurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

War in Afghanistan

Lashkar-e-Islam (Urdu: لشكرِ اسلام, lit. 'Army of Islam', abbr. LI or LeI), also written as Laskhar-i-Islam, is a Deobandi jihadist terrorist group operating in Khyber District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan and the neighboring Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.[13][14]

LeI was founded in 2004 as a Deobandi militant group in Khyber Agency (today Khyber District) until it formed an alliance with the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e Taliban, TTP) in 2008 under the pressure of Pakistani counterinsurgency operations against the groups and a desire by the Pakistani Taliban to control the strategic Khyber Pass for attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.[13] LeI’s 2008 alliance with the Pakistani Taliban and 2015 partial merger with the group transformed the LeI from a local militant organization to a regional and transnational terrorist organization.[13][15] Though displaced into Afghanistan in 2014 and weakened by Pakistani and later U.S. military operations, the groups maintains an reduced footprint in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[13]

LeI was founded as a splinter from the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (AMNAM) in Khyber Agency in 2004 by Mufti Munir Shakir who led the group until his 2006 exile by local tribes.[13] Mufti Shakir was replaced by Mangal Bagh, a senior commander under Mufti Shakir, until his death in a roadside bomb attack in late January 2021.[16][17] A day later, the group announced Zala Khan Afridi as LeI’s new leader with Bagh’s son, Tayyab, as deputy.[18][19] Tayyab was detained by the Afghan Taliban in December 2022.[19]

A joint operation between Lashkar-e-Islam and Pakistani Taliban on a Pakistani army outpost in September 2024.

The group has also clashed multiple times with other militant outfits such as Islamic State – Khorasan Province. An incident occurred in 2018 where dozens of militants from ISIS and Lashkar-e-Islam had been killed in clashes in Achin, Nazian and Haska Mina districts.[20][21]

Lel has established good ties with the Pakistani Taliban but never agreed to join together as an organization.

  1. ^ "Mangal Bagh killed in Afghanistan". The News. 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Pakistan's top fugitive militant commander killed in Afghanistan blast". The Express Tribune. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Pak-based banned terror group Lashkar-e-Islam picks its new leader". The Economic Times.
  4. ^ a b "Lashkar-e-Islam". Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) – Stanford. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Pakistani Militant Leader Killed In Afghanistan". RFE/RL. 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "List of banned organisations in Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  7. ^ Borhan Osman (27 July 2016). "The Islamic state in 'Khorasan': How it began and where it stands now in Nangarhar". Afghan Analyst Network. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Pakistan hard-liners 'shot dead'". 23 April 2007.
  9. ^ "TheNews e-paper [Beta Version]". Archived from the original on 21 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Three key LI commanders lay down arms". 10 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation". Reuters. 12 March 2015.
  12. ^ "'Leave or face death': Terrorist group Lashkar-e-Islam threatens Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu & Kashmir's Pulwama".
  13. ^ a b c d e Zaidi, Syed Manzar Abbas (October 2010). "The Role of Laskhar-i-Islam in Pakistan's Khyber Agency". Combatting Terrorism Center (CTC) Sentinel. 3 (10).
  14. ^ "Mapping Militant Organizations: Lashkar-e-Islam". Stanford University. August 2019.
  15. ^ "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation". Reuters. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Pakistan's top fugitive militant commander killed in Afghanistan blast". The Express Tribune. 28 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Pakistani Militant Leader Killed in Afghanistan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 28 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Pak-based banned terror group Lashkar-e-Islam picks its new leader". The Economic Times. 30 January 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Laskhar-e-Islam deputy commander arrested by Afghan Taliban". The Express Tribune. 19 December 2022.
  20. ^ Zerai, Khalid (2018). "ISIS, other militants clash over illegal logging in Nangarhar".
  21. ^ "Lashkar-e-Islam | Mapping Militants Project". mappingmilitants.org. Retrieved 16 October 2024.