Wolf-Pack Terrorism: Inspired by ISIS, Made in Bangladesh
ISIS reverses course: Jihadists leave Syria, putting countries like Bangladesh under siege and driving wedges amid political squabbling
Ongoing political squabbles and vendettas do not stop terror, and militants will use such differences to drive a wedge into societies. “Ongoing conflict between the two major political parties, Bangladesh National Party, which considers itself custodian of Bangladeshi nationalism, and Awami League, which regards itself as the sole guiding force of Bangladeshi liberation, has left the field open to ISIS and al-Qaeda to recruit militants,” explains Saroj Kumar Rath, assistant professor at the University of Delhi and an expert on security affairs in South Asia. Ruling parties in the United States, France, Belgium, Turkey, as well as Bangladesh are keenly sensitive about terrorist attacks on their watch, plotted by and influenced by jihadists returning from the battlefronts in Syria and Iraq. Social media posts reveal collaboration among a range of terrorist groups with influence spreading. Denial is not an option, and governments must organize and collaborate, with one another and within, to stop the scourge.
Local residents pay their respects to the victims of the attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 4, 2016. The assault on the restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone by militants who took dozens of people hostage marks an escalation in militant violence in the Muslim-majority nation. AP Photo
NEW DELHI—For three years Bangladesh had witnessed sporadic killing of minorities, free-thinking bloggers, and members of LGBT community amid signs of a growing ISIS presence. With the brutal murder of 22 diners, workers, and police at the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery, Dhaka now joins Paris, Brussels, Orlando, and Istanbul on the global map for terrorism.
Distinguishing the Dhaka suspects from others is that they belong to the country’s western-educated elite including a senior member of the ruling party. The homegrown bunch made sure their crime got international airing, using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to post ghastly images on the Islamic State website. As Bruce Riedel, a leading expert on terrorism, has noted, Bangladeshi terrorists have graduated from lone-wolf to wolf-pack attacks in extending the ISIS ideological footprint into South Asia.
Bangladeshi terrorists have graduated from lone-wolf to wolf-pack attacks in extending the ISIS ideological footprint into South Asia.
