Defeated militarily in 2017, IS remains a global threat

The year 2017 saw significant destruction to the Islamic State (IS), which lost almost all of its self-proclaimed “Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, but experts warn the group is adapting and continues to be a threat, reports AFP from Paris. Within hours of the start of the year, an Uzbek who described himself as a “Caliphate Soldier” opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul in Turkey, murdering 39 New Year’s Eve revellers. Through directly arming jihadists or by luring them with online propaganda, IS has committed or inspired dozens of deadly attacks, especially during the first half of the year, including in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia and Great Britain.

Among them was suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a young British man of Libyan origin, who killed 22 people—including many children—by blowing up a homemade bomb at the exit of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester on May 22.

Vehicle attacks, committed by jihadists inspired by IS orders, have brought bloodshed to the streets of Jerusalem, London, Stockholm, New York and Barcelona—and remain very difficult to prevent. The attacks, which claimed several thousand lives overall, took place despite the almost complete dismantling of the organisation in Iraq and Syria, following a coordinated offensive launched in autumn 2016.

IS—also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh—had set up a base to manage its networks abroad, recruit soldiers, finance and coordinate their actions. But its physical disappearance did not put an end to the attacks.

Defeated militarily in 2017, IS remains a global threat

The year 2017 saw significant destruction to the Islamic State (IS), which lost almost all of its self-proclaimed Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but experts warn the group is adapting and continues to be a threat, reports AFP from Paris. Within hours of the start of the year, an Uzbek who described himself as a Caliphate Soldier opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul in Turkey, murdering 39 New Years Eve revellers. Through directly arming jihadists or by luring them with online propaganda, IS has committed or inspired dozens of deadly attacks, especially during the first half of the year, including in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia and Great Britain. Among them was suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a young British man of Libyan origin, who killed 22 peopleincluding many childrenby blowing up a homemade bomb at the exit of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester on May 22. Vehicle attacks, committed by jihadists inspired by IS orders, have brought bloodshed to the streets of Jerusalem, London, Stockholm, New York and Barcelonaand remain very difficult to prevent. The attacks, which claimed several thousand lives overall, took place despite the almost complete dismantling of the organisation in Iraq and Syria, following a coordinated offensive launched in autumn 2016. ISalso known by the Arabic acronym Daeshhad set up a base to manage its networks abroad, recruit soldiers, finance and coordinate their actions. But its physical disappearance did not put an end to the attacks.