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:

  • India: Second attack in 3 months, man dies in Patiala blast while ‘planting IED’

    April 28, 2026

    A powerful explosion on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) track in Punjab’s Patiala district late Monday night left one man dead, with police suspecting he was attempting to plant an improvised explosive device when it detonated. The blast occurred around 9 pm near Bathonia village, between Rajpura and Shambhu, triggering a high alert across Punjab and ...

  • Mali: Defence Minister killed in suicide car bomb attack

    April 27, 2026

    Mali ‘s defense minister was killed in a sweeping attack by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases, authorities said Sunday. The Malian government confirmed the death of the defense chief, Gen. Sadio Camara, in a post on the defense ministry’s Facebook page, and expressed its condolences to his family. State-run television also ...

  • Colombia: Highway bombing in the El Túnel sector of Cajibío kills at least 14 amid a ‘wave’ of attacks

    April 26, 2026

    At least 14 people were killed and at least 38 wounded, including five children, after a bomb tore apart a busy road in southwestern Colombia, according to local authorities. The incident was part of a “wave” of terror attacks this weekend, Colombian officials also said, as deadly violence resurges in the country. “An explosive device was ...

  • Northern Ireland: Explosive device detonated outside PSNI station in Dunmurry

    April 26, 2026

    An explosive device in a car that detonated outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast was “sent to kill officers”, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has said. Forensic officers were examining the burnt-out vehicle on Sunday morning in a side street beside the PSNI station in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry. ...

  • Mali: Insurgents hit military bases in ‘complex attacks’

    April 25, 2026

    Insurgents launched attacks in Mali’s capital and ​other locations across the country on Saturday, with the army urging people to remain calm as the military-led government faced one of the ‌biggest operations yet in a long campaign against it. A U.N. security note said there had been “simultaneous complex attacks” in Kati, near Bamako’s airport and ...

  • Sudan: Seven killed in drone strikes in El Obeid

    April 25, 2026

    At least seven civilians were killed and others injured on Saturday following drone strikes targeting various locations in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. El Obeid has been transformed by the army into an advanced hub for military operations in Darfur and Kordofan. It frequently faces drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ...

  • Pakistan: Balochistan terror attacks linked to Afghan-based networks

    April 19, 2026

    Senior provincial authorities on Saturday claimed that recent spikes in terrorism across Balochistan are directly linked to militant networks operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Hamza Shafqaat, DIG CTD Aitzaz Goraya, and Special Assistant to the Home Department Babar Khan Yousafzai stated that terrorists routinely infiltrate from Afghan territory to execute strikes within ...

  • Philippines: PNP on high alert after 10 local terrorists killed in Lanao clash

    April 19, 2026

    The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed all units in the Bangsamoro region on heightened alert to preempt any retaliatory attacks after 10 suspected members of the local Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group (DI-MG) were killed in a Lanao del Sur encounter on Friday. PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed local police forces to continue coordination ...

  • Lebanon: IDF soldiers face threat from IEDs

    April 19, 2026

    Two days after the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect, it is already clear that its terms are less favorable than those agreed following Operation Northern Arrows at the end of 2024. Now, the main concern in the IDF is improvised explosive devices planted before the ceasefire in areas under Israeli control. One such device in the ...

  • Myanmar: Three civilians injured in improvised explosive device explosions

    April 19, 2026

    On 17 April 2026 at 1:05 PM, a report stated that a man with shrapnel injuries was admitted to Dawei Township Public Hospital in Tanintharyi Region. When security personnel arrived at the hospital to conduct further investigation, the victim was identified as U Tin Oo (53 years old), a resident of Pan Taw Village in Thayetchaung ...

  • Syria: Security units foil terrorist plot, seize weapons and explosives

    April 18, 2026

    Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday that its specialized units have dismantled an “active terrorist cell” and arrested five of its members. Preliminary data indicated that members of the cell were involved in assembling explosive devices, preparing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and rigging mines, and had received specialized training abroad from entities experienced in explosives manufacturing, ...

  • UK: Counter-terror police investigate London arson attacks on Iranian and Jewish targets

    April 16, 2026

    Counter-terrorism investigators are examining three separate arson attacks in London against an Iranian dissident and Jewish targets amid fears the Iranian state may be behind them. The latest attack happened at about 8.30pm on Wednesday, outside the offices of Iran International, a Persian-language news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran. The Metropolitan police said an ...

  • India: Second IED blast in 24 hours injures jawan in Jharkhand’s Saranda forest

    April 16, 2026

    The anti-Maoist operation in the Saranda forest region of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district has intensified even as one more security personnel, the sixth, has been injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast — the second such explosion within the last 24 hours, officials said. The latest incident occurred on Thursday during a search operation by ...

  • Nigeria: Zamfara Guards seize 98 explosives, N13m bound for bandits

    April 15, 2026

    Members of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards have arrested a commercial driver conveying 98 explosive devices, N13 million and three motorcycles en route to a bandits’ camp in Bindin village, Maru local government area of the state. The suspect confessed he was delivering the items to illegal miners in the area. He further alleged that ...

  • Iran: IED explosion in central Tehran

    April 15, 2026

    The source of an explosion sound in downtown Tehran on Tuesday night was a homemade explosive package, with reports suggesting the damage caused by the blast was minor and there were no casualties. On Tuesday night, April 14, two liquid gas-based remote-controlled improvised explosive packages detonated in Imam Khomeini Street, in District 10 of Tehran. The ...

  • Somalia: Joint offensive with Jubaland units kills 27 Al-Shabaab militants

    April 15, 2026

    Somali National Army and security units from Jubaland carried out a large-scale operation in parts of southern Somalia targeting the extremist group al-Shabab, the government said Wednesday. The Ministry of Defense of Somalia said the joint operation took place in areas under the districts of Jilib, Xagar, and Afmadow, where troops advanced into villages including Waraha ...

  • Ukraine: Police detain two young men suspected of terrorist attack in Brovary

    April 14, 2026

    Police have detained two young men suspected of carrying out a terrorist attack in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, on the orders of Russian secret services. At 22:08 on 13 April, a report was received via the 102 emergency line about an explosion near a house. A man was injured by the blast wave. Police officers, first responders ...

  • Myanmar: Five civilians injured in improvised explosive device explosion in Tanintharyi Region

    April 13, 2026

    On 11 April 2026 at 2:15 PM, five residents of Yar Phu (Thit) Village in Yebyu Township in Tanintharyi Region, were working in a rubber plantation near the village, they stepped on an improvised explosive device planted by so-called PDF terrorists As a result, they sustained shrapnel injuries and were transported to Ye Township Public Hospital ...

  • Nigeria: Commanding officer, six soldiers killed in IED explosion in Borno

    April 13, 2026

    Troops of Sector 3 under the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI, have repelled an attempted infiltration by insurgents at a military position in Monguno, but suffered fatal losses from an Improvised Explosive Device shortly after the engagement. The incident occurred in the late hours of April 12, 2026, at a location identified as ...

  • Lebanon: Hezbollah deploying FPV explosive drones against IDF forces

    April 12, 2026

    Hezbollah has increasingly been using first-person-view (FPV) explosive suicide drones against Israeli forces in Lebanon, and while these technologies and tactics have been emerging in the Levant, they have long been established in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Drone warfare has rapidly evolved in the Russia-Ukraine War, as have countermeasures, providing the Israeli military with ...

  • Bangladesh: IEDs, anti-personnel mines detected, flammable chemicals seized at Naikhongchhari border

    April 10, 2026

    Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has detected improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and anti-personnel mines along the Naikhongchhari border in Bandarban and seized a significant quantity of flammable chemical substances in separate operations. According to a BGB press release, a patrol team from Naikhongchhari Battalion (11 BGB), under the Ramu Sector, conducted a special operation on April 9 ...

  • Nigeria: Jihadists kill army general and soldiers in attack on Borno state base

    April 10, 2026

    Jihadists killed an army general and several troops in an attack on a military base in northeast Nigeria, local government and intelligence sources told AFP Thursday. Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah was the second top officer to be killed in five months as violence surges across the country’s mostly Muslim north. Four sources, including the military ...