They’ll be back: Islamic State presents an increasing threat in Western Europe

Islamic State is once again grabbing headlines: rioters in Russian penal facilities in Volgograd and Rostov regions declared links to the terrorist group; the network’s Afghan affiliate, IS-K, claimed responsibility for a large-scale terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March; a recent incident in Solingen, Germany, was also linked to ISIS; and an unknown number of potential terrorist plots have been foiled by law enforcement. Military defeats in Syria and Iraq in the 2010s certainly cost the group territory and funding, making them a relic of the past in the public eye, but much like coronavirus, they never fully went away. Not only has ISIS survived — it will soon be reinvigorating its cells in Europe, Russia, and Turkey to stage new mass casualty attacks, warns Antonio Giustozzi of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies (RUSI).