News Digest

Dozen groups ready to step into terror space should ISIS be defeated, warns report

The defeat of so-called Islamic State will not end worldwide jihadist terrorism because as many as 15 hard-line Islamist militias are capable of succeeding the group in Syria, a new report suggests. Nearly 100,000 fighters aligned with rebel factions in war-torn Syria follow the same religious and political ideology as ISIS, according to the report. Some 60% of the major Syrian rebel groups are Islamist extremists, and if Western nations defeat only ISIS, other militias “will expand their horizons and launch attacks outside Syria”, reports the Centre on Religion & Geopolitics, an initiative of The Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

The greatest danger to the international community are the groups that share the ideology of ISIS, but are being ignored in the battle to defeat the group.

Report authors

Syria currently hosts the “largest gathering of jihadi groups in modern times”, the report warns. The study examined 48 rebel factions in Syria and reveals that 33% - nearly 100,000 fighters - follow IS’s ideology. The figure rises to 60% if Islamist groups - those who seek to establish a state government by Islamic law, or Sharia - are included. Publication of the report comes after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at achieving peace in Syria. The document was approved by the US, UK, Russia, China, France, and 10 other nations and endorses an international roadmap for peace.

If ISIS is defeated, there are at least 65,000 fighters belonging to other Salafi-jihadi groups ready to take its place.

Report authors