Following Pakistan and India: Why did ISIS announce new branches?

Ahmed Sultan

On May 10, the ISIS terrorist organization called for the establishment of the so-called “State of Hind (India)”, and barely a week went by until a new branch called “State of Pakistan” appeared.

The ISIS expansion in the Indian subcontinent, which began with the bloody attacks inside Sri Lanka led by foreign terrorist elements, was soon followed by the announcement of two new branches of the terrorist organization.

Baghdadi gave the start signal

Late last month, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced in a new video that he is continuing to lead the remnants of his forces and that the organization is not over yet.

In his speech, Baghdadi said that the battle with the enemies is a battle of attrition, in all human, military and logistical capabilities, as part of the organization’s current strategy of “prolongation and attrition.”

The leader of the organization accepted what he called the allegiance pledges of terrorist groups in Central Africa and Khorasan, calling on them to continue terrorist acts and support ISIS cells there.

New “soldiers of the caliphate”

Baghdadi’s talk about new groups joining in Khorasan brings us back to June and July 2018, when ISIS advocated implementing sporadic attacks against the Indian army forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

On July 22, the Burhan terrorist group in Kashmir announced allegiance to Baghdadi. Since then, it has advocated adopting the operations carried out by these groups, calling itself “Khorasan State – Kashmir District”.

Restructuring

After the repeated defeats experienced by ISIS and the killing of senior leaders in Khorasan, Baghdadi restructured branches of the organization through what is known as the administration of distant states.

Baghdadi’s campaign, which began in the late summer of 2017, focused on integrating ISIS groups, drawing up a new framework for terrorists, and adopting a different approach according to the nature of their presence within the different regions.

The campaign recently resulted in the announcement of two new ISIS branches in India and Pakistan.

The Long War

The goal of ISIS establishing “distant states” was to relieve pressure on the organization’s main strongholds in Syria and Iraq and to transfer the battles to new areas by exploiting historical injustices in those countries. This was expressed by the former spokesman of the organization, Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, who oversaw the external ISIS cells for a while.

Adnani was the mastermind of the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015 after he called on the organization’s cells around the world to spread terror in response to the formation of the international coalition fighting ISIS.

Following the organization’s loss of a number of cities in 2016, the former ISIS spokesman declared that terrorist acts would continue even if all the areas under its control were lost, adding that the new wave of terrorism would be greater.

After clamping down on the last pockets of the organization in the Baghouz, ISIS promised a new wave of terrorism, trying to convince the world that leaving the organization inside Syria and Iraq was better than eliminating it.

ISIS cells – burning coals under the ash

The ISIS announcement reveals the formation of new branches in areas far away from it and the presence of thousands of ISIS elements who move freely and plan to re-take control of the former strongholds.

According to the quarterly report issued by the Pentagon, ISIS has been isolated inside Syria and Iraq and began to work through separate cells in order to rebuild itself again.

In a previous speech, Abulhassan al-Muhajir, the organization’s spokesman, said that ISIS is prepared for a long war through its cells and entire battalions composed of thousands of its remaining fighters.

The Pentagon report says ISIS is still active inside Syria and Iraq, while efforts to fight it after taking control of its last stronghold in Baghouz have been complicated, threatening the return of the organization.