After Europe, ISIS wolves planning to spoil Christmas in Asia

Shaima Hefzy

The continent of Asia is the second area that ISIS threatens after Europe during Christmas and the organization has managed to build branches for it and recruit new elements after losing its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, in addition to foreign fighters who traveled from those countries to join the organization.

The continent is a hotspot for ISIS from the north and south, and the cells of the organization are active through its lone terrorist attacks, which threatens the attacks of the beginning of 2020.

In 2019, Sri Lanka – the country in the southernmost part of the continent – appeared on the map of ISIS, which has established a major foothold in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is considered the two countries most contested by ISIS and Al Qaeda today.

ISIS has expanded and penetrated into Asia, and its terrorist operations have spread among the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia, and the Asia market area has become a “proliferating environment”, in a way that suggests the danger of the next stage in front of these countries, at a time when European countries are strengthening their security apparatus to face the threats of the organization.

Terrorism experts expect that Asian countries, especially those that suffered from terrorist acts on the occasion of Christmas, will face similar crimes between December 2019 and January 2020, although the patterns of attack can change slightly compared to those that occurred in previous years.

These warnings called on the police forces in Indonesia, for example, to reinforce their efforts to secure the celebrations of the beginning of 2020, as the police deployed 1,200 individuals while the Indonesian army sent 200 individuals to secure the children of the church who wish to join the gatherings in the churches.

Indonesia has witnessed a series of bombings targeting churches in several cities, including Medan, Pimatangsiatar, Batam, Bandung, and Jakarta, over the past years. The city also witnessed a “Maidan” suicide bombing of a homemade bomb in November 2019.

The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs notes that the threat posed by the strong branch of ISIS in Asia is one of the reasons that may help rebuild the organization again.

The ministry says on its official website that ISIS continues to pose a serious threat to international security, given the continued presence of secret cells active on the Iraqi and Syrian scene, and the continued presence of ISIS terrorist groups in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and that the organization has propagated very complicated calls for the use of violence.

The growing concern about what ISIS might carry to Asian countries in the coming period, is stated by the Malaysian government, which is awaiting the return of 65 citizens in northern Syria among ISIS detainees.

According to the newspaper “This Week in Asia,” security officials in Malaysia are concerned that extremists may try to return to their homes without being detected and that there is a possibility that they will flee and go to a third country or return to Malaysia.

“If they return to Malaysia, it is very likely that they will recruit new members and launch attacks,” said Ayoub Khan Medin Pichai, head of the Anti-Terrorism Division of the Malaysian Police Force.

“Among the 65 Malaysians in northern Syria, 11 are ISIS fighters currently in prison,” Ayub added, adding that about 40 of the group – including women and fighters – wanted to return to their homes.

The police chief added that 11 Malaysians have returned to the country so far, with eight of them – all of them men – charged in court and convicted for their terrorism-related activities.