The ISIS Caliphate is dead, but ideology has become stronger today

New Delhi, May 09: The latest video of Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi is alarming. Back in 2014, when he released his first video, he was seen as confident and a man who was ready to take on the strongest of forces.

The 2019 video post the Sri Lankan attacks saw a stout Baghdadi seated to the ground. Sitting cross legged with an assault rifle, a heavier Baghdadi when compared to 2014 termed the attacks in Colombo as a revenge strike. The video was put out by Al-Furqan, the central media ministry of the Islamic State.

The video is something that none of the agencies world wide are taking lightly. None have disputed the authenticity of the video and this only confirms that the man who had faked his death over and over again is alive.

The Islamic State has lost considerable ground and is hardly even a force to reckon with in Syria and Iraq today. Despite the losses, supporters of the terror groups kept the idea of the ISIS alive on the cyber space. Now, with the Sri Lankan bombings, it is clear that the group is capable of staging big strikes, but with the help of local terror groups such as the National Towheed Jamath.

The ISIS is looking for a similar strategy in India and has been scouting for partners in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Intelligence agencies explain to OneIndia that what the ISIS is doing today is what they did in 2013. It is more silent today, but is making a sustained effort to remain in the eco-system. It has realised that it is depleting in strength and hence is looking for smaller radical groups to further its cause.

As long as their activities were restricted to Syria and Iraq, the rest of the world had nothing to worry about. However with the fall in the mainland, it was expected that they would spread across the globe. The ISIS is more dangerous today, when compared to 2014 as it weak in the ground and stronger in the mind of its followers, the officer explains.

The officer further explains that the Caliphate may be dead, but the ideology lives on. The radical manner in which the ISIS takes up a job has become a run-away hit with many in India.

India has so far been successful in curbing the ISIS menace. There have been several cases in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana that have been busted. The modules which were busted had the potential of becoming dangerous, but they were nipped in the bud.

The successful campaign against the ISIS does not mean that one can take it easy. Even today thousands of messages are exchanged on online platforms by ISIS members. Off late they quote the Kashmir issue a lot and this is clearly an indication that the outfit is trying to set up shop in the Valley, the officer also says.

While the traction has not been as what the outfit would have expected, one cannot ignore the fact that on November 17, 2017 the ISIS claimed its first attack in the Valley. The outfit said that it was behind the killing of a police man in Srinagar. The police too confirmed that this was an attack carried out by the group.

This coupled with the fact that the ISIS has managed to rope in radical groups from Southern India has only made the outfit dangerous. The interrogations of the radicalised youth arrested by the NIA in connection with the Kerala ISIS case only indicates how much they subscribe to the ideology of the outfit and the man himself that is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.