The Islamic State (IS) was able to carry out "4.600 terrorist attacks in 2017" and despite the military defeat, the jihadist threat remains a "valid cause for concern". This was stated to “Agenzia Nova” by a NATO official in Brussels who asked to remain anonymous. “The fight against terrorism occupies a very high place among the Alliance's priorities. In 2017, IS saw significant territorial losses, yet managed to carry out 4.600 terrorist attacks around the world; it has changed its modus operandi, it has adapted to new realities, it has decentralized its power but the strength of the ideology remains and is still able to strike ”, explains the official of the Atlantic Alliance. “From complex attacks we have passed to lone wolves, with less sophisticated operations and fewer victims. Their use of social media to recruit new followers is very effective ”, adds the source consulted by“ Nova ”.
The feared return en masse to the countries of origin of the so-called "foreign fighters" (the fighters who have tested the battlefields in Syria in Iraq) has not yet occurred, "but also a small number of fighters who have gained experience land is a very big threat, ”adds the NATO official. The intertwining between the return of the jihadists and the routes of illegal migration has proved to be possible, but according to the source consulted by "Nova" for the moment "there has not been a significant flow of foreign fighters through these flows: however this it does not mean that it cannot happen, indeed it is a valid cause for concern ”. Simply, according to the NATO official, "it is not the preferred route to infiltrate: why risk dying at sea when it may be easier to use a passport?".
Dat the end of 2016, the source consulted by "Nova" continues, "we have seen the use of increasingly sophisticated commercial drones in Iraq and Syria". Unmanned aircraft that "could also be used to carry out attacks against civilians: we are looking at this threat very carefully," adds the Alliance official.
Furthermore, up to now, no biological or atomic weapons have been used to carry out terrorist attacks, while the loss of IS territory reduces the possibility of manufacturing “dirty bombs”, rudimentary weapons capable of spreading radioactive material. "To make weapons of this kind, equipment and infrastructure are needed that the Islamic State no longer has", the official continues, finally warning that the decline of power of the "caliphate" could soon be "bridged" by Al Qaeda and that the Alliance "remains vigilant".