Islamic State terrorist group is gaining strength after year of calm

The Islamic State group, staying in the shadows for the most part of the last 12 months, seems to be making a resurgence.

ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in the Afghan city of Jalalabad, the group’s Amaq news agency reported Sunday, cited by Reuters.

City officials said that at least three blasts were heard outside a jail compound.

According to The Times of India, special Afghan forces killed a high ranking ISIS affiliate near Jalalabad in the eastern part of the country, though it wasn’t clear if the incident was related to the explosions from earlier.

While the terrorist group has weakened in recent years, under the new leadership of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi ISIS has been regrouping and regaining its strength amid the unstable situation in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula – exploiting the coronavirus pandemic crisis in the region as well, according to The Africa Report.

In the first four months of 2020, 566 attacks by ISIS took place in Iraq killing at least 35 people, TAR reported.

On July 6, Iraqi leading expert on ISIS, Hisham al-Hashimi, was assassinated by unknown gunmen in Baghdad.

The United Nations released a report in January, warning that ISIS “began to reaffirm its presence in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq, fomenting more and more daring attacks.”

The report stated that the group still has some $100 million available at its disposal, partly explaining its recent growth in stature.

Source: Israel Hayom