After the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, ISIS’s analysts who have a theory of terrorism raise two issues that are important. The two questions are how to target Sri Lanka and how to defeat the ISIS terrorist.
There can not be any doubt about the short term objective of attacking Sri Lanka. Over the past few years, ISIS has suffered defeat in Iraq and Syria. The organization is very angry. According to the attacks carried out by the countries of the past, they are subjected to harsh treatment of the Western countries. And, in general, this anger has also been raised about Christians.
For the past several years, ISIS terrorists attacked the lives of Christians and Westerners. The attacks that originated in Europe hit the churches of the Philippines and the eastern corner of Asia in 2018. In January 2019, a cathedral in the Zulu district of the Philippines was targeted by terrorist bombing.
In many countries, security has been strengthened. Hence, a fierce attack is not as easy as before. On the other hand, the focus is on a peaceful assault on an impoverished country, with an assault on an area where terrorists have once been terrorized.
Therefore, the main reasons for targeting Sri Lanka are that it is an easy target and the focus on it is very large.
Where are the ISIS terrorists?
A few years ago, the main purpose and goal of ISIS terrorists was to create a Islamic state based on Syria and Iraq. For this, they gave their followers the pledge to create an Utopian Islamic state governed by their philosophy in the Syrian and Iraqi territories. This important milestone was the announcement of the establishment of the Islamic Chalepa by Leader Ahubakir al-Baghdadi in 2014.
However, ISIS terrorists gradually withdrew from this area by the involvement of Iraq, Syria and other parties. The assistance provided by the Russian Armed Forces and the special forces was very important. By mid-2015, ISIS’s territory in Iraq and Syria was much like Britain’s territory, but it lost its last stronghold in March 2019.
As this situation arose, ISIS terrorists faced several major problems. They earned most of their income at the earliest time by smuggling oil resources in their territory. As their rule was slipping away from them, their main source of income was a severe blow. In the meantime, when the defeats continued, the need for a propaganda campaign emerged.
Accordingly, the ISIS terrorist organization acted accordingly to force the foreign troops that were supporting them. These attacks were directly targeted by the ISIS terrorist group, and some of the attacks were part of the national teams that support them. At present, the attack in Sri Lanka is similar. The past two and a half years of the attack in the Philippines.
Iraqi and Syrian militant ISIS terrorists have not been suppressed yet. Although they have lost their control areas, a large number of terrorists are still hiding there. Accordingly, the battle is not over. But the most important thing is that they spread to other areas.
To defeat ISIS
To pay attention to a number of important issues for defeating ISIS terrorists. One is that this is a global terrorism. According to the CIA, it is estimated that from the time of the siege of Syria and Iraq, 31,500 foreigners have migrated from over 120 countries. It can be assumed that a large number of survivors were returned to their countries. Some countries such as Russia had been alert to such persons and they were arrested when they returned. But many states do not seem to understand the threat.
All countries that are threatened must work together to defeat international terrorism. There are many lessons learned from countries such as America, Russia, and Singapore. It is internationally a responsibility to exchange information about terrorists and to work together to find out the terrorists.
Further, a propaganda program that shows that the radical Islamic philosophy propagated by ISIS is not true Islam. It is necessary for Sunni to engage in Islamic religious leaders against Wahabism.
The most important thing is defeating the ISIS organization through the Internet and social media. Although the ISIS organization has lost its geographical location, they have created a huge propaganda force over the social media and the Internet. The cyber space, though, is not clear today, even though their chaplain is not in the realm. This is the cyber chaos that should be defeated today. To do this, governments need to improve understanding of the Internet and social media. It should be done as soon as possible.
