IS And Al-Qaida

Islamic State of Iraq And Syria (ISIS) the most deadliest and ferocious militant group of recent days should not only be considered as some local insurgent group they have a global jihad aspiration like Al-Qaida. The “new caliphate” being declared by jihadist organization as its steamrolls over Syria and Iraq harks back Islam’s golden days. At its head is the self-proclaimed successor to the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) i.e. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. And he has big ambitions he stated his “eyes were on Rome”. IS spokesman put a voice to the vision of the organization just days ago stating “The time has come for those generations that were drowning in oceans of disgrace, being nursed on the milk of humiliation, and being ruled by the vilest of all people, after their long slumber in the darkness of neglect — the time has come for them to rise,” reads the statement in which IS declares its “new caliphate. We should all remember, these are the guys Al Qaida cut ties with because they were “too extreme”. Now ISIS wants to be known simply as the Islamic State. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is also rebranding himself he now insists on being called Caliph Ibrahim. They want to be seen as leader of all Jihadist militants groups across the globe which position Al-Qaida used to hold undisputedly. So now Islamic State and Al-Qaida has become the staunch rival to each other.

Islamic State has no intention of stopping their expansion any time soon even after US airstrikes against them. IS has already declared its five-year plan (it’s is, in fact, a year old): Between now and 2019, it hopes to seize an empire rivalling that of ancient Rome  ranging from Spain in the west, Nigeria in the south and Pakistan to the east.IS hopes to capitalize upon its fresh aura of power and victory. There’s little doubt there are those in Egypt, Palestine, Libya and even Nigeria who are now “caliphate-wannabes”, eager to hitch a ride with IS success whom previously inspired by Al-Qaida. Its mystical medieval aura is also likely to draw the attention of those who have been radicalized in the West. As a recruitment move, it’s likely to be a success among those who will see it as their holy grail finally taking shape. Security and Intelligence agencies around the world are regarding the caliphate to be a “rallying cry”, potentially motivating a fresh wave of terror attacks on a larger scale than seen in recent years which once was only expected from global terrorist organization like-Al-Qaida.

Al Qaida could arguably seek to re-establish its credibility through major terrorist attack on the West, though between the command-and-control problem and the complicated politics of all this jihadi infighting, such a move may not be foregone conclusion. The Islamic State group, so far, has shown little desire, let alone the capability, to launch major terrorist attacks in the West. But that could change because of gaining supremacy over Al-Qaida so, the international community should keep an eye on both these deadly terrorist organizations simultaneously and keep a constant pressure on these two groups so, that operational capabilities of them are eroded.

Manish Rai

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