Many thought that the Islamic State (IS) had been defeated after the loss of its remaining territory in Syria in 2019, but it poses danger ever since. According to a report from the US Department of Defense, the Islamic State carried out 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria alone, not including the attacks of other branches of the Islamist terrorist group.

Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is one of the most active branches of IS. The terrorist organization is based in Afghanistan and is active mostly in Pakistan and Iran. ISKP fighters are the ones suspected to be responsible for the deaths of 145 people at a concert hall near Moscow earlier this year.

Another notable branch of IS is the Islamic State Mozambique (ISM). The organization controls a significant territory in Cabo Delgado, a northern province of Mozambique. Its activity increased compared to previous years, carrying out several attacks.

Islamic State Central Africa Province (also known as the Allied Democratic Forces) is in contact with and frequently aids its counterpart in Mazambique while carrying out its own activity in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to Professor Fernando Cardoso,

“Many of these heavily armed jihadist fighters, who are causing havoc in the eastern Congolese provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, have increasingly fled to the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado in recent months.”

The professor added that the goal of the terrorists is to establish a caliphate along the Swahili coast, including Cabo Delgado province.

Islamic State Sahara Province is active and carries out attacks while controlling 40% of Burkina Faso. This February, their militants killed 15 Christians during an attack on a church. The activities and frequent terror attacks show that even after its believed defeat, the Islamic State is very active in different parts of the world.

Source: Barnabas Aid

Photo: Wikimedia