See how close the ISIS is to India today

India may not be badly affected by the ISIS, but the recruitments that are taking place in full scale in its backyard is something that the Indian Intelligence Agencies and the Home Ministry is watching closely.

A major recruitment drive of the ISIS has commenced in Afghanistan in areas that were once the strongholds of the Taliban.

From what the intelligence bureau officials have been able to gather the recruitments are going on in full swing and there is a good chance that the ISIS may rope in at least 300 to 500 men in the months to come.

Target South of Kabul

What is worrisome for India is that the first round of recruitments that the ISIS has undertaken is in the South of Kabul which is around 800 to 1000 kilometres away from New Delhi. The proximity to India from these areas is glaring and if the Indian security mechanism is not on high alert there is a good chance of this problem spilling into India.

While there is no indication what so ever that the ISIS has directly laid its hands on Indians for its war in Afghanistan, what Indian agencies need to be careful about are the volunteers. We have seen in the past several Indians leaving their homes and going to Syria and Iraq.

Afghanistan is closer to India and the chance of a spill over is higher when compared to Syria or Iraq. Indian Intelligence Bureau officials say that they are on alert and are closely monitoring every movement especially out of states such as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Al-Khorasan

The ISIS recently launched its operations in Afghanistan and called the group as Al-Khorasan. The ISIS which has been battling in Syria and Iraq largely decided to spread its wings into Afghanistan taking advantage of the West pulling out of there.

There is a major turf war in Afghanistan building up with the West withdrawing gradually. There are several stake holders in Afghanistan which include the Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban, Al Qaeda in the Sub Continent and now the ISIS or Al-Khorasan.

The ISIS flags which have been spotted in the South of Kabul are targeting the Taliban fighters who are not united at the moment. While the Taliban is hoping that its supreme commander Mullah Omar may reverse their fortunes, the ISIS has a better following as of today for various reasons.

The ISIS is cash rich and the Taliban fighters have the reputation of switching sides for money. Moreover the ISIS has a larger global agenda which promises to set up the Sharia law across the world.

The declaration of the Caliphate and also Abu Bakar Al-Bhagdadi styling himself as the Caliph have all been very good PR exercises for the ISIS which has got them global attention and people joining from all walks of life.