Terror threat

The Danger of Islamist Terrorism: Be Not Afraid

No good deed goes unpunished. The campaign by the U.S., Western countries, Kurds, and Russia against ISIS has succeeded up to a point. ISIS, the self-created Islamic Caliphate is shrinking. It has lost about 40 per cent of the territory it held in Iraq, and 20 per cent in Syria, and lost cities including Mosul, Ramadi, and Palmyra, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is in danger of losing Raqqa. However, as a result, ISIS has changed its priorities. Its objective now is to increase influence, not expand territory, and to export terrorism.

The ISIS Caliphate poses a greater danger to the world by sending its critical mass of foreign fighters, who swear allegiance to ISIS, back home to their countries to become sleeper cells, preparing to inflict mass casualties in cities in their own country.