The Taliban was outlawed by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003. In Mar 2024, gunmen killed 145 people at a concert hall outside Moscow in an attack claimed by Islamic State. US officials said they had intelligence indicating it was the Afghan branch of the group, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), that was responsible. The Taliban says it is working to wipe out the presence of Islamic State in Afghanistan. Western diplomats say the movement's path towards wider international recognition is stalled until it changes course on women's rights.
