Commentary
Following another thwarted ISIS-inspired terror plot, this time by a Canada-based Pakistani planning to target Jews in New York on the anniversary of a previous Hamas attack in Israel, there is a resounding declaration that “ISIS is back.”
However, this assessment is inaccurate.
For something to “be back,” it must have disappeared in the first place. The resurgence can be unexpected or anticipated, but it is significant. In the case of the ISIS terrorist group, it has not experienced a revival because it never truly vanished in the first instance.
The group has been in existence since the mid-2010s, evolving into its current state after originating as an al-Qaeda offshoot,
Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Interestingly, even
al-Qaeda distanced itself from ISIS due to the latter’s extreme violence!
ISIS proceeded to establish what it termed the caliphate, spanning regions of Iraq, Syria, and Kurdish territory, perpetrating unspeakable atrocities over several years, including beheadings, drownings, immolations of individuals in cages, mass executions, sexual enslavement, and the trading of women in “markets” to ISIS militants. The group also attempted genocide against the Yazidi religious community, labeling its members as “devil worshippers.”
Thanks to efforts by the United States and its coalition partners, the caliphate was dismantled by 2019. Many celebrated the defeat of these monstrous extremists.
Nonetheless, ISIS did not lay down its arms in Iraq and Syria—today, they regularly launch attacks in both countries—and the group gave rise to a dozen or more “provinces” in various regions such as West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Mozambique, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, India, and Central Asia. These “franchises” have caused the deaths of thousands over the past few years. In many ways, ISIS has outstripped al-Qaeda—which is still active—on the list of the most deadly terrorist organizations. The most notable branch currently is ISIS-K or ISIS-Khorasan,
operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS-K was responsible for the assault on the
Crocus City Hall music venue near Moscow in March.
The situation worsens. Individuals or small groups “inspired” by ISIS have carried out attacks, some of which were relatively minor, in countries like France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and an attempt to target a Taylor Swift concert in Austria was foiled. There was even
a potential ISIS-inspired attack in Ireland, a country more accustomed to IRA activities than jihadi assaults.
Canada has also been a target. In addition to the recent thwarted plot thanks to the RCMP and the FBI, there was an
incident at a Canadian Tire in Scarborough in 2017 carried out by an ISIS sympathizer, and
another in Edmonton the same year. Just a few weeks ago, the
RCMP apprehended a father-son duo, the Eldidis, who were allegedly planning a large-scale attack in Toronto. The father had previously been featured in an ISIS video where he was depicted “dismembering” a captive. This threat was thwarted due to intelligence shared with Canadian authorities by France.
The wave of ISIS attacks shows no signs of diminishing. The group will continue to spread and expand in the coming years (and possibly decades). Its presence in Africa is particularly troubling as the affected nations have struggled to curb these terrorists. The removal of counter-terrorism forces from the United States, France, and other countries by military regimes in Mali and Niger, and their replacement by Russia’s
Africa Corps (formerly the Wagner Group), is unlikely to halt the attacks. Africa runs the risk of becoming what Afghanistan was to al-Qaeda in the 1990s: a terrorist haven posing a direct threat to Western nations.
The Canadian government must take this threat seriously and cease denying that jihadi terrorism is a thing of the past, overshadowed by right-wing extremism. Immigration and border authorities must diligently carry out their duties to prevent ISIS terrorists from obtaining refugee or citizenship status.
Dismissing terrorism as a peaked threat is an unwise stance to take. While other dangers such as foreign interference, espionage, and cyberattacks are on the rise, terrorism stands out as it captures the nation’s attention like no other form of violence.
ISIS will remain at the forefront of this threat spectrum for the foreseeable future. It never truly disappeared.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
