Fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces taking part in a military parade last week to mark the second annual anniversary of Baghouz's liberation from Islamic State
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Islamic State poses a “serious and growing threat” in parts of Africa two years after its forces were largely destroyed in Syria, Dominic Raab warned today.
The Foreign Secretary, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other allied foreign ministers stressed that there was still a battle to deliver “a full and enduring defeat of Daesh/ISIS (Islamic State) worldwide”.
.Just over two years ago, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces declared that the Islamic State group’s five-year “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq was over after the jihadists were driven out of their last stronghold of Baghuz.
The then US President Donald Trump hailed the “liberation” of Syria, but warned the world needed to “remain vigilant” against IS.
After an online meeting of Global Coalition against Daesh (IS) ministers today, they emphasised that there was:
* A “serious and growing threat” from IS affiliates in West Africa and the Sahel region in northern Africa, and an emerging threat in East Africa.
* Attacks claimed by IS in Africa include the beheading of civilians in Mozambique and targeting of aid workers in the Lake Chad Basin region.
* Increased terrorist activity in Iraq, including a recent double suicide attack in Baghdad.
* An increase in IS activity in areas held by the Assad regime in Syria, where IS has reportedly rebuilt “networks and capabilities to target security forces and civilians”.
Mr Raab said: “Two years on from the territorial defeat of Daesh (IS) and liberation of nearly eight million people from its cruel grip, we remain committed to preventing its resurgence.“
The UK is supporting partner forces confronting Daesh in Iraq and Syria, stabilising liberated communities, building institutions so that terrorists face justice, and leading efforts against its twisted propaganda”.
The foreign ministers stressed the key aim of ensuring that IS is “unable to reconstitute any territorial enclave or continue to threaten our homelands, people, and interests”.
