ISIS moving from Syria, Iraq into Africa
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the death of ISIS caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 17, 2019.
This coincided with a United Nations
report showing that ISIS had gained presence in over 88,000 kilometers in Syria
and Iraq.
The report also showed that the
terrorist group was in control over 8 million people in the two countries.
Escape to
Africa
A recent study by the Combating
Terrorism Center, which is based in New York, showed that an exodus of ISIS
members happened in the 18 months since Baghdadi's death from Syria and Iraq
into Africa.
The center said the terrorist
organization also succeeded in drawing in a large number of recruits in the
continent in these 18 months, which made it stronger.
Over 3,500 ISIS members are now
present in West Africa, the study said.
It estimated the number of ISIS
members in Libya at hundreds.
Ups and downs
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov
said the most senior leaders of ISIS continue to live in Iraq and Syria.
He said the attacks masterminded by
these leaders increased noticeably this year.
Voronkov
said he had told the Security Council that ISIS members act freely now in Iraq
and Syria within small cells.
ISIS is regrouping and increasing
its activities in volatile areas, such as Iraq and Syria, Voronkov said.
He added
that the branches of the organization in other parts of the region are also
becoming active.
A retired U.S. intelligence official
said, meanwhile, that the threat posed by ISIS is far from over.
The U.S., he said, succeeded in
destroying this organization. However, ISIS is still present in many parts of
the world, he said.
The official noted that the global
coalition against ISIS is no longer active or present.
