(TND) — Islamic terrorists struck in Russia late last week, killing at least 137 people and leaving over 180 injured in an attack on a Moscow-area concert hall.
ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, claimed responsibility.
U.S. intelligence has confirmed ISIS' involvement.
What does last week’s attack say about their ability and intent to strike on foreign soil?
“There's no question that ISIS-K has always had the intent,” said Lorenzo Vidino, the director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University. But there are signs over the last few months that ISIS-K has also “increased their capabilities to strike well beyond their geographical area of operation,” he said. There's growing concern over terrorists making their way into the U.S. following a deadly attack last week in Russia. The National Desk's Dee Dee Gatton reports. (TND)
ISIS-K still primarily operates in Afghanistan, its home base.
The “K” stands for “Khorasan,” which includes parts of the modern-day nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, terrorism experts with Clemson and American universities told The Conversation.
“... The Moscow attack serves as retribution for perceived grievances held against Russia, while also projecting global reach,” Amira Jadoon of Clemson and Sara Harmouch of American University told The Conversation. Vidino said Monday that Moscow was just the latest sign of ISIS-K trying to carry out attacks farther from its home in Afghanistan. ISIS-K carried out a suicide bombing in Iran, another of the group’s enemies, Vidino said. And there have been reported attempts in Europe, he said.
ISIS-K was reportedly thwarted in a planned attack on the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.
Vidino said it’s easier for ISIS-K to penetrate Russian territory, given the land connection, than it is to reach American soil. Attacking the U.S. would be “unquestionably a different dynamic,” he said. But, Vidino warned, it would be unwise to assume it couldn’t happen.
“It would be ... naive to think of the U.S. as shielded from this dynamic,” he said.
The majority of people who have been arrested for terror attacks, or who have carried out attacks, in the U.S. have been “homegrown,” he said. Many of them have been U.S.-born or have been in the country legally for 10-20 years.
But there is the danger a foreign terrorist could slip across our borders, as well.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows there are hundreds of people on the terrorist watchlist who have encounters with field officers or border agents each year. “Can we say that the U.S. border is airtight?” Vidino said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly now blamed “radical Islamists” for the attack in his country. Four men were charged, according to The Associated Press. Seven other suspects have been detained, the AP reported. The terrorism experts who spoke with The Conversation said one of ISIS-K’s goals with the Russia attack is to inspire its supporters worldwide. Vidino said that’s true, but he said the attack was also “very specific to Russia.”Russia is a primary target for ISIS – perhaps an even greater target than the U.S. Vidino said Russia poses a greater threat to ISIS in its core theaters of Afghanistan, Syria and Africa. Russia is aligned to the Taliban, an enemy of ISIS. Russia is active in Afghanistan and a presence “for obvious historical reasons” in Central Asia, Vidino said.
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