Russia predicts the revival of Islamic State caliphate

Terrorism threats in unstable regions in the Middle East and Afghanistan still remain a key threat to Russia’s safety, Moscow has cautioned, speculating that radicals could be making gains on the African continent.

Speaking to RIA Novosti on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said that “the situation for counterterrorism remains very tense.

The environment remains difficult in Syria and Iraq, where the main destabilizing factors are the holding of the Idlib de-escalation zone by radical groups and the presence of ISIS and Al-Qaeda cells.”

The official went on to add that “in Africa, especially in the Sahara-Sahel zone, [the Russian Foreign Ministry] can essentially observe the preconditions for… the revival of the terrorist ‘caliphate version 2.0’ there.”

Syromolotov also said that Moscow is “closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan”, where there is a high level of terrorist threats from the ISIS and Al-Qaeda sympathizers who have settled there after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban this summer. He cautioned that this poses a risk for Russia and Central Asian states.

Source: RT