IS becoming omnipresent?

Separate root systems strengthen IS. Each branch operates with-in its own national, religious environment.

The Islamic State (IS) militants are popping up everywhere in the near and far Muslim world as well as in Europe and Australasia.  There are now active branches of the cult in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Yemen as well as in Syria/Iraq, the main base of the cult.

The far flung branches are not entities planted by IS but established radical fundamentalist groups which swear allegiance to IS, the most fashionable option among militant, hard line Sunni ultra-orthodox Salafis. The fact that the cult’s branches do not share the same geographical roots as the parent organisation – which seeded and grew in Iraq before crossing the border into Syria - is both a strength and a weakness.

Separate root systems strengthen IS. Each branch is independent and operates within its own religious, national and cultural environment. Consequently, overall IS commander and self-styled “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi, does not exercise control over IS branches which appoint their own “emirs” to run local affairs. This is an adaptation of the franchise connection developed by al-Qaeda, which provided the root stock of IS.

While there is some movement of fighters from one theatre of war to another, independence can also mean weakness. IS branches stand alone against the rising number of foes joining together to fight IS from the air and by arming and “training” anti-IS forces.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, contributors to the air campaign in Syria and Iraq, have moved their war planes to Jordan and the US has shifted its search and rescue mission from Kuwait to northern Iraq to cut down the time required to whisk away pilots brought down during raids.

Following the IS massacre of 21 Egyptian Christian workers in Libya, Cairo has joined
the air war against IS. This involvement coincided with the adoption by the Egyptian military of an offensive, pre-emptive strategy to eliminate IS in Northern Sinai where it has been attacking police, army and civilians since 2013.

Egypt also faces daily attacks on police, soldiers, and infrastructure by fundamentalist elements who may or may not be associated with IS or its allies, creating fears that the situation could revert to the frequent bloody shocks of the 1990s when the country's security forces battled a range of radical fundamentalists until their violence was quelled.

Last weekend's shootings that left two dead in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, appear to have been patterned on the attacks in Paris last month that killed 12 at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly and four at a Jewish market. While the perpetrators of Charlie Hebdi claimed to be acting on behalf of Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the man who attacked the shop said he belonged to IS.

Omar Abdel Hamid al-Hussein carried out the Copenhagen attacks just two weeks after he left prison, having completed a sentence for attempted homicide. Two of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks, Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly, were jailbirds who met in prison. All three had a history of gang-related activities.  During 2009-10 Cherif's brother and co-conspirator, Said, studied Arabic at an institute in Yemen where he met al-Qaeda recruits.

‘Lone wolf’ terror strikes

Individual or “lone wolf” terrorist strikes could multiply in Europe and elsewhere because a minority of alienated Muslim youths are being incited by websites, social media and blogs maintained by IS and other radical groups. These tools and underground recruiting agencies, have won over at least 5,800 from West Asia, 5,300 from North Africa, 400-1,000 from Turkey, 2,500-3,000 from Europe, including 700-800 from France, 500 from Britain, and 400 from Germany. Denmark (100) and Belgium (300) have contributed the largest number of recruits per capita of their populations.

IS, which promises an Islamic utopia and calls for “unity among all Muslims,” uses the most advanced techniques of all radical factions to snag fighters in deprived neighbourhoods and prisons.  Some fighters return to with the intention of committing terrorist acts after repatriation while “sleeper” recruits wait to be activated in their home countries.

The international community as a whole has been slow to address the IS threat for several reasons. Until June 2013, the Western powers did not tackle conservative allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait over their support for IS, al-Qaeda-affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, and other radical jihadi entities. In spite of pressure to interdict recruits, Turkey has continued to funnel arms and foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq.

The IS was belatedly designated as a terrorist entity by the UN, European Union, US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and India. The UN Security Council only recently adopted a resolution designed to crack down on jihadist financing.

 India has still to enact a proposed law outlawing IS and similar organisations. These actions have been too little, too late, making it all the more difficult to contain, defeat, and, ultimately, uproot IS.