Syrian Islamists of Central Asian origin who previously participated in the Syrian conflict have now been identified in Afghanistan, raising concerns among the Taliban, Central Asian countries, and India.

These Islamists are based in the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Herat and threaten local security, and their negative effects are likely to spread to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and India as per a report in Economic times.
Kyrgyzstan, despite not sharing a border with Afghanistan, is also concerned about the rise of radical activity and has thwarted two foreign-backed coup attempts since the beginning of this year.
Tajikistan also faces a threat from ISIS, which has released a video threatening the Dushanbe government. In this regard, Russia recently removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist groups in order to benefit from the Taliban’s support in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

According to the Indian newspaper Economic Times, ISIS is trying to establish its presence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region to target secular regimes in Central Asia as well as the Taliban. There have also been reports that ISIS is being trained in Balochistan, Pakistan, with the support of the Pakistani army.
The Hizb ut-Tahrir group, which is now active in the government structure of Bangladesh, has also infiltrated Kyrgyzstan as per Afghan media.
India is closely monitoring developments on the Afghan border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as it is concerned about the return of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which may become active again after the change of power in Syria and the rise of Hizb Tahrir al-Sham.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are also concerned about the growing influence of extremists who are in contact with Syrian Islamists and are working from inside Afghanistan to overthrow secular governments in Central Asia.
The recent successes of Islamists in Syria have inspired Central Asian extremists, especially in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
According to a report published in January, Tajik national Sayfuddin Tadjiboyev has been appointed to the Syrian Islamist army and may become a key figure in terrorist activities in Central Asian countries.
The report adds that Tadjiboyev’s appointment as chief of operations of the new Syrian government’s Ministry of Defense has been welcomed by extremists from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanista