From territorial to virtual: Is ISKP the next Al Qaeda?


“We beat them through their own app; all they can do is delete our IDs,” an Islamic State (IS) supporter from Qawqaz, the Arabic name for the Caucasus region, boasted in a closed chat room on the Darknet.

He was live-updating other IS members about the attack that killed more than 140 people at a concert hall near Moscow in March — the worst attack to hit Russia in years. Soon after, the militant Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the attack. While there was no official word on the motive, security analysts have pointed out that for at least two years preceding the attack, the ISKP had been fixated on Russia, frequently criticising Putin in its propaganda.

Read more…
Source: Dawn News


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Syria: 10,672 people killed in Syria since fall of Al-Assad regime, including 3,020 people extrajudicially executed

    September 7, 2025

    Nine months passed after the fall of Al-Assad regime and dissociation of military and security institutions, which caused critical security vacuum throughout Syria and left military forces which later took control of the country facing considerable challenges at all levels, especially the security and economic situations; this, in turn, has led to a state of ...

  • Pakistan: At least one killed in Bajaur explosion during cricket match

    September 6, 2025

    At least one person was killed in a bomb blast while a cricket match was being played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Saturday, according to the police. Bajaur District Police Officer Waqas Rafique confirmed the incident to Dawn.com in Khar tehsil’s Kausar Cricket Ground and said the blast was carried out through an improvised explosive ...

  • Cameroon: Separatists claim deadly roadside attack that killed 7 soldiers

    September 6, 2025

    A separatist group has claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb attack that detonated in southwestern Cameroon, killing seven soldiers. The attack happened Friday morning near the town of Malende, according to local media. The Fako Unity Warriors, an English-speaking separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack late on Friday. The Cameroon News Agency reported that seven ...

  • Pakistan: Two injured in explosives-laden motorbike attack in Khuzdar

    September 6, 2025

    Two people sustained injuries on Saturday when explosives planted in a motorbike went off in the Naal area of Khuzdar, Balochistan. Police confirmed that unidentified attackers had rigged the motorbike with explosive material and left it parked in the Koh area of Naal Tehsil. According to officials, the blast occurred as a vehicle carrying two men ...

  • Nigeria: Benefits of new technologies in clearing improvised landmines

    September 3, 2025

    Over the past decade, Nigeria has been grappling with a threat of a new kind: improvised landmines. As federal authorities step up efforts to address the issue, this policy brief explores the potential of technologies such as airborne remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance landmine detection. After declaring its conventional landmine clearance obligations complete ...

  • Israel: Missile from Yemen was carrying a cluster munition

    September 3, 2025

    The IDF reported on Wednesday evening that the Houthi missile intercepted in the morning carried a cluster warhead. According to the IDF, a field examination concluded that the Houthi terrorist regime used a cluster surface-to-surface missile. In its statement, the IDF urged the public to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and to be ...

  • Mali: Al Qaeda-Linked JNIM Burns Road Construction Equipment Along Bamako-Kayes Corridor

    September 3, 2025

    The Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), on Tuesday attacked a road construction site along the Bamako-Kayes corridor, setting fire to heavy equipment and temporarily halting work on the strategic project. A short clip which captured the aftermath of the incident showed several units of construction machinery on fire at a section of ...

  • Colombia: Drones, Fear, and a Buzz That Kills

    September 1, 2025

    On a flickering surveillance monitor, two men watch as a speck in the sky releases its payload—homemade, crude, and lethal. Below, civilians scatter before the explosion blooms. This isn’t footage from Ukraine or Gaza. This is Colombia. Armed groups have discovered drones. What began as a trickle of reports has become a steady stream of terror. ...

  • UK: Birmingham terror suspect had bomb-making video on phone

    September 1, 2025

    A TikTok user from Birmingham with more than 27,000 followers has gone on trial accused of having a bomb-making video on his phone. A court heard the video showed how to make an improvised explosive which had been used in previous terrorist attacks in the UK. Jurors were told Adam Mahmood from Birmingham had a video ...

  • Pakistan: Militant attacks surge to decade-high in August

    September 1, 2025

    Pakistan witnessed an alarming spike in militant violence in August this year, registering a 74 per cent increase in militant attacks compared to July, becoming the “deadliest month in over a decade”, according to data released by the Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) on Monday. In July, PICSS documented 82 ...

  • Pakistan: Explosion partially damages girls’ primary school in Lakki Marwat

    August 31, 2025

    An explosion at a girls’ primary school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district partially damaged the building, though no casualties were reported, police said on Sunday. DPO Khan further said that there were two IEDs planted in the school. “One of the IEDs exploded, while the other one was discovered when the police reached the incident ...

  • Israel: Seven IDF soldiers injured in Zeitoun neighborhood

    August 30, 2025

    During an operational activity in the Zeitoun neighborhood near Gaza City, an IDF Namer armored vehicle was damaged after it drove over an explosive device. Seven soldiers were injured in the explosion, one moderately and the rest lightly. All of the soldiers were evacuated by medical teams to receive treatment at a hospital. Read more… Source: Israel National ...

  • Nigeria: Army intercepts 242 bags of fertiliser bound for terrorists’ bomb production in Borno

    August 29, 2025

    Troops of the Nigerian Army have intercepted 242 bags of NPK fertiliser suspected to be diverted for use in the production of Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs by terrorists in Borno. Reportedly, troops of 151 Task Force Battalion at Banki Junction in Bama Local Government Area, LGA intercepted a truck conveying 142 bags of NPK 20-10-10 fertiliser ...

  • Israel hits Houthis targets in Sanaa after reports group used missile carrying cluster munitions

    August 24, 2025

    Israel has carried out air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in response to the group’s missile attack on Friday which Israel said carried cluster munitions. The Israeli operation targeted a military complex housing the presidential palace, a fuel depot and power stations. Six people were killed and 86 injured, Houthi officials said. The ...

  • Pakistan: More than 30 terrorists killed while assembling IED inside a mosque in Bajaur

    August 22, 2025

    More than 30 suspected terrorists were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) they were assembling inside a mosque in Bajaur district went off on Thursday. The incident came hours after at least 15 suspected terrorists were eliminated in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan district, officials and sources told The Express Tribune. Sources said ...

  • Colombia: Car bomb attack on military base in Cali leaves at last six dead

    August 21, 2025

    A car bomb attack near the military school of Colombia’s Marco Fidel Suarez Air Base, in eastern Cali, left at least six people dead and several others injured. The explosion occurred around 3 p.m. in the vicinity of the military base. Although the authorities are still working on assessing the damage, the attack could have been ...

  • Philippines: Soldiers recover 17 bombs in South Cotabato, foil alleged rebel plot

    August 21, 2025

    Soldiers in South Cotabato recovered 17 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) believed to have been planted by communist rebels, preventing a possible attack in the province, the military said on Thursday. Troops from the Army’s 105th Infantry Battalion responded to reports from residents and members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) about suspicious items in ...

  • Colombia: Explosives-laden drone shots down helicopter eradicating coca crops in Antioquia

    August 21, 2025

    In a rural area of Antioquia, about 150 kilometers north of Medellín, a drone carrying explosives brought down a Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) helicopter this morning. Although the number of fatalities has not yet been confirmed, reports indicate that at least twelve people were killed and another five were injured to varying degrees. Read more… Source: ColombiaOne News Sign ...

  • Italy: Suspect Is Arrested in Sabotage of Pipelines Between Russia and Germany

    August 21, 2025

    Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian national who German investigators believe coordinated the undersea bombing in 2022 of two gas pipelines that directly linked Russia to Germany, the German authorities said on Thursday. It was the first arrest in the act of sabotage that occurred as the war in Ukraine raged, a technically sophisticated attack that ...

  • Mali: JNIM group says 21 soldiers killed in widescale attacks in Ségou Region

    August 20, 2025

    Al Qaeda-linked militants killed 21 soldiers during coordinated attacks in Mali on Tuesday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization that tracks online reports by Islamist militants. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) said it captured two soldiers, seized 15 military vehicles and more than 50 weapons during the “widescale” operation. Mali’s army declined ...

  • DR Congo rebels killed 140 civilians despite peace process

    August 20, 2025

    M23 rebels killed at least 140 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month in one of the worst atrocities by the armed group since its resurgence in late 2021, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. This is despite a peace process, brokered by the US and Qatar, to end the conflict in ...

  • Bangladesh-Myanmar border: Landmine-related injuries on the rise

    August 18, 2025

    In the first six months of this year, at least 18 people — 17 Bangladeshis and one Rohingya — were wounded in landmine explosions on the Myanmar side of the border. Two Rohingyas were killed and six others wounded last year, while five people were injured in 2023. Human Rights Watch reported last November that the ...