Kashmir-Bengal-Kerala: Understanding the geographical remit of the ISIS

New Delhi, May 17: After announcing a province in India, the Islamic State has done the same in Pakistan as well. Media reports in Pakistan said that the ISIS claimed to have assassinated a police officer in Mastung and also hit rival Taliban fighters in Quetta.

Both were attributed to the Pakistan Province of the group. The move comes just a few days after a similar province was announced in Kashmir. Several analysts tell OneIndia that the ISIS is trying to establish the Caliphate in the Indo-Pak-Afghanistan region after it fell in its mainlands of Syria and Iraq.

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Similar attempts are also being made in the South of India. The group is in touch with several radical groups down South and is trying to replicate what it did with the National Towheed Jamath in Sri Lanka.

Even in Kashmir, the ISIS would look for local groups to further its cause. Another development that has been worrying the agencies is the announcement of an Emir for West Bengal. All these groups of the ISIS would operate on a region wise basis. They would target specific issues relating to the region. Some analysts say that the ISIS would look to establish Caliphates in all these regions.

The ISIS did not elaborate on the branch's geographical remit as it mentioned the name of its new branch in a low-key announcement.The announcement of the new branch is seen as part of ISIS' strategy to give the impression of strengthening its global affiliations following the territorial losses in the Middle East.

Such a strategy was highlighted by ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the past.The brief ISIS statement of May 10 via the messaging app Telegram said that the Islamic State militants using machine guns had clashed with the Indian security forces in the village of Amshipora in Kashmir's Shopian district, killing or injuring a number of them.

Media reports on May 10 said that one militant was killed in clashes with security forces in Kashmir's Shopian district. ISIS began claiming attacks against Indian security forces in Kashmir since November 2017 without any branch affiliation.

Prevously, ISIS attacks in Kashmir were linked to its so-called Khorasan Province branch, which was set up in 2015 to cover "Afghanistan, Pakistan and nearby lands".