If it is definitively determined that the Moscow atrocity was carried out by ISKP, it would be consistent with the rapid increase in the group's external operations activities as of late.
ISKP has proven adept at appealing to radicalized people from Central Asia and mobilizing them into action against its perceived enemies, both inside Afghanistan and abroad.
The Taliban have begun a PR blitz against the Islamic State, which has challenged the new Afghan government’s promise to bring peace to the country and its borders.