Interpol: Islamic State group gains support in Africa, Asia

A growing number of extremist groups from Africa to Southeast Asia are shifting their allegiance to the Islamic State group, leading to greater risks for “cross-pollination” among conflicts beyond Syria and Iraq, the head of Interpol said Friday. Juergen Stock, a keynote speaker at a meeting attended by half a dozen ministers, cited this shift as an emerging trend at a U.N. Security Council meeting along with changing travel methods being used by foreign fighters seeking to join groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

No country can tackle this challenge alone.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

In a report obtained by The Associated Press on April 1, the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against al-Qaeda said the number of fighters leaving home to join al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and other countries has spiked to more than 25,000 from over 100 nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said most are young men motivated by extremist ideologies but he called for an examination of the reasons why more women and girls are joining the groups as well. He said he plans to present a plan of action to prevent violent extremism to the General Assembly later this year.

Middle East Islamic State