The group is again in the news after the Islamic State (IS) flag was placed on the truck of the ex-US soldier who killed several people at New Year's celebrations in the United States. The world is worried that the group, which was nearly destroyed by a US-led coalition operation a few years ago, still has followers. This news was revealed in a report published by the British news agency Reuters on Saturday (January 4).
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they are concerned that IS is trying to regroup and recruit new members in Syria. In particular, this concern is exacerbated by the fear that extremists will fill the power vacuum created by the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
IS was at the peak of power from 2014 to 2017. They ruled over the people by suppressing large areas of Iraq and Syria. At that time they spread their net across the Middle East.
The then leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, suddenly declared himself the caliph of Muslims. In 2019, US special forces killed him in northwestern Syria.
The so-called caliphate of this group was destroyed in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 through a series of operations by the US-led military coalition. But then IS split into smaller cells. Their leadership is now secret. It is therefore difficult to determine the overall strength of the team. According to UN estimates, IS has about 10,000 armed members in the mainland.
The US-led coalition has continued to pressure armed groups through airstrikes and ground operations. In the meantime, IS has been able to carry out some major attacks and incite people to carry out 'lone wolf' attacks like the one in New Orleans.
Such attacks include a March 2024 attack by gunmen at a music hall in Russia that killed at least 143 people. In addition, hundreds of people were killed in two explosions at a government event in the Iranian city of Kerman last January.
Brett Holmgren, acting director of the US National Counter-Terrorism Center, warned last October that there were signs of a reactivation of IS media operations and plotting.
The current geopolitical situation has also been somewhat helpful for the Islamic State. IS is trying to take advantage of the anger spread among Muslims by the Israeli aggression in Gaza. Thousands of IS members captured by Syrian Kurds could also bring another opportunity for the group.
Although the New Orleans attacker's truck had an IS flag and supporters of the group cheered the attack, the group has not officially claimed responsibility or issued a statement praising the attack, US law enforcement agencies said.
