After the brutal attack carried out some time ago on the Crocus Town Hall in a suburb of Moscow, the world is once again reminded of the Daesh terrorist organization. The name Khorasan Daesh emerged as one of the branches of the terrorist organization that the world knows all too well.
Even though the coverage of Daesh's crimes in Syria and Iraq has diminished since the collapse of its self-proclaimed caliphate and its defeat by the international anti-terror coalition, the menace of terror has not disappeared from our world. The danger from terrorist organizations remains, and the attack in Moscow is a new warning that brings this threat back to the forefront, especially as many expect the crises the world is experiencing to spawn new generations of extremists even more vicious than Al Qaeda and Daesh.
In this context, reference is made to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the expected consequences for terrorist recruitment and ideological attraction emanating from organizations that have shifted their main activities from Syria and Iraq to other areas of West Africa.
Khorasan Daesh operates in Afghanistan and is an offshoot that wants to establish a new caliphate state, similar to what Al Baghdadi tried to establish in Iraq and Syria. It advocates an ideology based on global jihad.
One of their most famous acts was the bombing of Kabul airport on 26 August 2021. However, the most important conclusion in dealing with these organizations is that they are multiple faces of one idea, differing in their brutality, bloodshed, goals and specific tactics, but united in their hostility towards humanity.
Terrorism is not limited to Khorasan Daesh. There are terrorist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and Daesh that are spreading in West Africa and the Sahara desert. There is also the Al Shabaab movement in Somalia, and there are many international warnings that Sudan is becoming a haven for terrorism due to the current conflict in the country, as it is located between the Horn of Africa and the coastal region where terrorist organizations are spreading.
There is also ongoing terrorist activity in Afghanistan, where Khorasan Daesh and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan movement operate. The latter has recently engaged in mutual bombings between the Pakistani army and the Taliban movement, accused by Islamabad of harboring hostile terrorist elements, leading to the recent crisis.
American expectations point to the expansion of Daesh and Al Qaeda offshoots in Africa. The terrorist groups in Syria are looking for a new vacuum to exploit by escaping their persecution there. This vacuum could be found in the East African region. The Al Shabaab movement and the Daesh organization are visibly active there.
Most dangerous is the security chaos caused by the actions of the Sudanese army using militias fighting alongside them under the name of "Popular Resistance" or shadow battalions. These are mostly military formations under the command of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan, who are trying to regain power while hiding behind the army. This is not mere speculation, but has been mentioned in published statements by Muslim Brotherhood leaders who confirmed that they are not willing to negotiate solutions and that they will return to power "whether anyone wants it or not."
This is their stated position, so knows what is really happening to Sudan and its people behind closed doors. All this is happening right in front of the army. The army seems to be driven by a desire for personal revenge and retribution, far removed from the interests of the millions of displaced refugees. No one has learned the lessons of the recent past and is repeating the same mistakes that have led to Sudan's future being jeopardized.
One reason for the surge in terrorist activity in various parts of the world, including West Africa, is surely the declining interest in combating this scourge and the intensifying international conflicts that have divided the major powers.
The competition between the major powers has contributed significantly to the fact that the fight against terrorism has not been the focus of attention and armed groups have had the opportunity to reorganize themselves. All in all, the lack or decline of international cooperation, especially in counter-terrorism, serves the interests of terror organizations.
Worse still, the decline comes at a time when conditions conducive to the risk of radicalism, recruitment, and ideological mobilization into conflicts are increasing in various regions and countries around the world.
