The threat posed by the Islamic State also hits the headlines New Year's Day Attack on a crowded street in New Orleans on Wednesday is a man who may have ties to a terrorist network.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US-born citizen living in Texas and an Army veteran, drove a truck with an ISIS flag into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring several others. many.
However, the FBI has not confirmed his direct “affiliation” or “affiliation” with the notorious terrorist network that has been growing around the world in recent years, especially in areas such as the Sahel in Africa, although there is a statement in 2019 that a terrorist network existed. they are “defeated.”
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work on Bourbon Street after at least 15 people were killed when someone rammed into a crowd in the early hours of January 1, 2025 in New Orleans. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
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“Reports of the defeat of the Islamic State, like claims of the defeat of al Qaeda, are premature,” Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. “These groups may have setbacks, but they are persistent.
“The Islamic State poses a threat from Afghanistan. It has an important network in Africa, especially in the Sahel and East Africa, in Somalia. And its network in Iraq and Syria continues,” he added by saying.
Although the FBI has not confirmed that the New Orleans attacker was directly linked to ISIS, reports indicated that he appeared to be sympathetic to the terrorist network and “committed to loyal to ISIS” in a series of videos posted on his Facebook page, according to The New York Times.
The FBI has not yet released the motive for the attack, and Roggio explained that the incident could not indicate a “resurgence” of ISIS, although the security expert emphasized that the network many terrorists find themselves up against weak resistance. areas where it was previously opposed.
The withdrawal of 2021 from Afghanistan and The fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria Last month, the al Qaeda-affiliated group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham left security gaps in the Middle East and South Asia – similar to those that contributed to the rise of ISIS after the withdrawal of US Iraq. Security experts have warned ISIS and other terrorist networks could exploit these power gaps.
People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on December 8 in Damascus, Syria. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)
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ISIS-K – the regional organization of the terrorist group originated in Iraq and Syria – gained international attention in August 2021 when it attacked Afghans fleeing Taliban capture during the US withdrawal and used a suicide bomb to kill 13 American service members and civilians about 170 Afghans.
The Taliban takeover raised concerns that Afghanistan would become a safe haven for terrorists such as the Taliban's al Qaeda affiliate, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other jihadi groups, although there were also concerns that a new ruling group in Afghanistan will exist. cannot resist ISIS-K.
ISIS-K has failed miserably it is very successful in Afghanistan after the fall of the democratic government and the withdrawal of the US forces, but it is no longer strongly opposed.
“The Taliban and the Islamic State are enemies. The Taliban follow the Islamic State even when we are not there – that does not make them a terrorist partner, but now they do not have a dual threat against them – the US is targeting the Islamic State and the Taliban targeting the Islamic State — they have a lot of freedom of movement,” Roggio said.
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and works on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. (Photo by Reuters)
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The security expert said that when it comes to Afghanistan and the threats posed against the US and its Western allies, the Taliban and al Qaeda are still a greater threat than ISIS, although he stressed that ISIS is has “more room to work.”
“The Assad regime was the enemy of the Islamic State,” Roggio said. “One of the enemies of the Islamic State has been taken out of the board, so it will give ISIS more space to regain power in an area where it already has a significant presence.”
However, there is a third area where ISIS has strong roots and where it could see a resurgence if the US were to withdraw troops from the area.
The Biden administration in September announced that, in cooperation with the Iraqi government, the US would end its military mission in Iraq to fight the Islamic State by 2026. This move was met with immediate concerns from security experts who argued that ISIS remains the main threat. to the US, and could further endanger US troops fighting terrorist networks in Syria.
The details of the troop drawdown remain unclear, and plans to renegotiate a change in withdrawal plans following the collapse of the Assad regime and the unstable situation in Syria have not yet emerged.
There is still a chance that the incoming Trump administration will push to keep US troops in Iraq despite the threat posed by ISIS given by the president-elect to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan during his first term. .
Service members of the Operation Inherent Resolve unit stand in formation and salute the United States flag during the Union III Memorial Day ceremony in Baghdad on May 27, 2024. (US Army)
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“The US has to decide whether it wants to stay in Iraq and Syria in order to fight the Islamic State and other targeted groups,” Roggio said. “And if it decides to stay, it needs to strengthen its presence to prevent threats from military groups that are attacking US forces.
“The effort of the United States to keep the Islamic State on the ground is important. Without the presence of the US there, groups like the Islamic State, will thrive because of lawlessness,” the security expert said. add. “As bad as the Assad regime was, and it was a terrible governmentfought the Islamic State – so without their presence, you have another terrorist organization controlling large areas of Syria.
“As we learned in Afghanistan, you can't trust terrorists to fight other terrorists,” Roggio added.
Fox News Digital could not reach Trump's transition team for comment on his plans regarding US forces in the Middle East.