Terrorism experts have warned that the Islamic State could exploit the global instability caused by the new coronavirus pandemic to organize a global recovery. Indeed, there are signs that the activity of Islamic states has intensified in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and even Europe in the past few days.
On April 28, the Islamic State said it was responsible for a suicide attack in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, which injured four people. The attack targeted the Information Protection Agency, which is the de facto intelligence agency of the Kurdish-led local government in northern Iraq. It is estimated that the Islamic State commands at least 20.000 armed fighters in Iraq and Syria. Between April 15 and 21 alone, the Islamic State carried out over 30 operations across Iraq, according to reports.
On the same day, April 28, a motorist who appears to have deliberately rammed his vehicle into two police motorcyclists in Paris said he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Earlier this month, police in the German city of Frankfurt arrested three suspected members of the Islamic State who were planning a bomb attack to kill large numbers of civilians. These attacks follow a "propaganda resumption" reported by the Islamic State, aimed at a European audience.
On April 17, an Islamic group linked to the Philippines in ambushes of a military convoy and executed 11 soldiers after capturing them. The soldiers were attempting to arrest or kill a senior commander of the militant group. And on April 24, the Mozambican government announced that the Islamic State is present and active there, after a group or armed militants killed 52 civilians in a village in Cabo Delgado, which is Mozambique's oil-rich region.
Meanwhile, Islamic State publications and media messages describe the novel coronavirus as a divine form of punishment against atheist China, as well as "polytheistic" Iran and Europe's "crusaders". Some outlets of the Islamic State have urged followers of the group to refrain from venturing into heavily infected regions. But the most recent messages have called for an "insurrection" to coincide with Ramadan, which will last for much of May.
