Pretty different from what? Afghanistan in the 70s/80s was almost exactly this: a destabilized national government, insurgent forces taking and holding territory, global powers being dragged into it. The only differences are the rhetoric.

Edit: here, this may be a link that helps you understand more of the history of the region as well as the context for the rise of AQ/ISIL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maktab_al-Khidamat