LAST Wednesday, US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter stated that the coalition forces’ next target was Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State (IS) group.
He said they would recapture Raqqa within a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Mosul is under severe attack by coalition forces led by the US, together with Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces. By making this statement, Carter has indicated that the heavy assault on Mosul is successful.
A few days ago, more than 100 people were killed by IS, including women, children and former police officers in Mosul.
As a warning to residents, IS dumped the bodies in a river near the village of Safina.
Earlier, it was reported that in retaliation, IS killed 280 men and children. Those who were executed were used as human shields. Now, IS is targeting journalists and cameramen covering the offensive in Mosul. IS also executed its own fighters who abandoned the battlefields.
According to an Iraqi online portal, iraqinews.com, IS also attacked Kirkuk. It was reported that more than 40 people were executed.
Dibis, an Iraqi town under Kurdish control, was attacked by three IS suicide bombers. It was reported that security personnel and civilians were killed.
The desperate measures taken by IS — such as using improvised explosive devices, toxic gas, suicide bombers and human shields, and killing journalists — show that they are merciless.
A police training academy in Quetta, Pakistan, was attacked by IS. More than 60 people were killed and 100 were injured.
In Tangerang, in the suburbs of Jakarta, a suspected IS terrorist attacked three policemen and hurled a pipe bomb but it failed to detonate. The increase in attacks in other countries proves that IS is evolving.
As reported in The New York Times recently, since 2014 IS had already planned to counter the present situation in Iraq and Syria. By creating and expanding its special forces, IS is exporting terrorism beyond its territories. This means the epicentre of terrorism is no longer in Iraq or Syria.
Since last year, IS had launched attacks globally, especially in Europe. Even though Europe is their focal target, Africa, Oceania and Asia have become more imperative to their cause.
Within Asia, Southeast Asia is more significant because IS is already established, and there are existing terrorist groups, which were once aligned with Al Qaeda, such as Jemmah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf.
The influx of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from Iraq and Syria to this region is foreseeable. Last month, Mohamas Amin, a suspected terrorist and bomb expert, was arrested by Philippine authorities in Quezon City.
Malaysia is a prime target of IS. Even though Islam is the country’s official religion, IS does not consider the country an Islamic state. More than two weeks ago, 16 suspected terrorists, including a school counsellor, were arrested nationwide.
Even though our security forces have dismantled terrorist cells, and gone after sympathisers and supporters of IS, the threat still exists. The region, including Malaysia, is facing an influx of hardened/seasoned/veteran FTFs from Syria and Iraq.
Therefore, intelligence and security forces in this region need to cooperate and share intelligence on returning of FTFs to deter terrorist attacks. The terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels are proof of the failure of these agencies to avert attacks.
In addition, Malaysia has a porous border that is difficult to monitor. The rise in the number of human smugglers and traffickers using Malaysia as a transit point, is another problem. To minimise and eliminate these threats, the border agencies should engage Rela, police and armed forces veterans to monitor and tighten up our borders.
R. PANEIR SELVAM, Chairman, Association of Legal and Policy Researcher, Kuala Lumpur