The Islamic State is back. He is calling for a new wave of “lone wolves” to revive his global terrorist campaign. And strategists warn once again that this country wants the next thing to come there.
The brutal attack on a Moscow concert hall shows that the foreign Islamic jihadist network has been defeated after more than two decades of war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Indeed, following the abrupt withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan in July 2021, it reinvigorated its recruitment campaign, replenished its weapons stockpiles, and built up money reserves.
This is basically due to a mixture of tacit and futile surveillance by the Afghan Taliban government, but also to the “distractions” of Israel and the South China Sea.
Now, the Afghan department of the Islamic State (ISIS-K) is in a position to fly the black flag and issue a new terrorist attack circular aimed at creating a new caliphate and unleashing Armageddon.
Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, the Islamic State’s propaganda chief, posted a message on the social media app Telegram last week calling on his followers around the world to attack Christians and Jews before the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on April 9.
The 41-minute tirade titled “By Allah, This Case Will Be Possible” called for attacks on Western forces in Iraq and Syria. He ordered Islamic State fighters in the Philippines to “move their operations to major cities” and their agents in Mozambique. to “double down on their attacks. “
Hostages beheaded. Mass executions. Cars drive the crowd.
One of the hallmarks of the Islamic State is to post photographs of its crimes on social media to urge its followers to commit even more serious acts of obscene violence.
Today, his successor is ordering would-be martyrs around the world to do the same.
Europe’s tourist hotspots step up anti-terrorism measures
France, Italy and Denmark have stepped up their counter-terrorism measures in the wake of the Moscow massacre.
Last week, Italy and France raised their terror alert to the level and pledged to intensify surveillance of tourist hotspots.
“In view of the alleged attack by ISIS and the risk to our country, we must raise the prestige of the Vigipirate to the highest level: emergency attack,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote in X.
“The enemy is known, it’s Islamist terrorism. The risk it poses to our country is strong and real,” he added.
Dutch internal security has also increased its level of terrorist risk.
“In months, the terrorist risk has increased to such an extent that the risk point has been raised to 4,” the National Security and Anti-Terrorism Coordinator said.
“This means there is a realistic option that an attack could take hold in the Netherlands. “
Resurrected Caliphate
“Although ISIS’s territorial caliphate has been dismantled, its ideological appeal remains,” warns a study by the Institute for Foreign Policy Research (FPRI).
The dreams of the self-proclaimed caliph (successor of the Prophet Muhammad) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were shattered with the fall of his capital, Raqqa. His Sharia-based empire stretched across much of Syria and Iraq. But it took two years before the last caliphate outposts were overrun in 2019.
The Islamic State’s over-interpretation of traditions had already spread around the world. It has agents in Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique and Congo. It has also attracted a following in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Afghanistan has proven to be a safe and impregnable haven for terrorist organizations. And, as a descendant of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda, the Islamic State has considered this mountainous, largely lawless country one of its hearts.
“ISIS and its affiliates have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and survive,” write FPRI analysts Colin Clarke and Christopher O’Leary.
“ISIS’s ability to recruit, inspire, radicalize, and mobilize its supporters toward violence is similar to its effectiveness in exploiting long-standing grievances and its planned strategy to identify franchised teams in regions characterized by political corruption, vast socioeconomic disparities, and weak governance. “
Dubbed ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), FPRI analysts say the Afghan branch is “currently the standard-bearer of the Islamic State and its top operationally competent affiliate. “
And he has a new aspiring caliph.
Sanaullah Ghafari (also known as Shahab al-Muhajir) is an Afghan national believed to be of Tajik origin and is accused of planning an attack that killed thirteen U. S. infantrymen at the Kabul airport in 2021.
New World Disorder
“(The Islamic State) maintains the ability and willingness to attack U. S. and Western interests in just six months with little or no warning,” Gen. Michel E. to the U. S. Central Command’s Kurilla Congress in early March.
It’s an unfortunate reminder of a global crisis that many wished to see go away.
“The zeitgeist in Washington and Brussels revolves around the ‘competition of great forces’. . . and it makes sense to divert resources to counter China and deal with the complexities presented through synthetic intelligence,” the FPRI research said. The fight against terrorism will have serious consequences. “
Moscow’s attack is not the first new operation, but it is its greatest success.
In December, a plot to attack the cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on New Year’s Eve was foiled by anti-terrorism police. Similar arrests have taken place across Europe.
“ISIS-K’s attack on Moscow is a stark reminder of the group’s reach,” the FPRI report said. “This showed that by lepulsively combining functions and intentions, Islamic State jihadists can simply seek to attack U. S. embassies, facilities, or labor corps. overseas. “
The New York-based think tank, The Soufan Center, released a briefing note over the weekend saying that ISIS-K is looking for recruits among those suffering from excessive poverty and harsh living situations in Syrian refugee camps. Measures taken in recent years have aimed to isolate some 9,000 IS fighters from detention centres.
Most of the revived terrorist teams appear to have originated in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
“ISIS-K’s intent to attract fighters throughout Central Asia is evident in its propaganda materials, which are published in local languages. . . through social networks such as Telegram,” the Soufan report states.
This effort aims to form a ground force that will once again turn Syria and Iraq into a new caliphate. But it also needs its unwavering subjects to further destabilize a fragile global order.
“In addition to ISIS-K, the al-Qaida-aligned TIP (Turkestan Islamic Party) is increasingly targeting China in its propaganda fabrics and Chinese citizens to carry out terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added.
“(Last week) a suicide bombing killed five Chinese nationals in northwest Pakistan. While the geopolitics of Central Asia impose a sensible balancing act between Russia, China, Iran and the West, the jihadist factions operating in the region have shown a willingness to attack those who oppose them.
Originally as The Islamic State’s horrific attack is a warning to the world.
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