Islamist fanatics have shown their global reach

Whether or not Isil is really responsible for the atrocities in Sri Lanka, the threat remains undimmed

It is entirely predictable that the leaders of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) should, as they did in a belated statement yesterday, try to claim responsibility for the appalling Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

With the death toll from last weekend’s carefully coordinated series of attacks at churches and hotels standing at more than 300, with hundreds more suffering serious injury, the bombings constitute one of the worst terrorist atrocities committed in the post-september 11 era, with the casualty toll far higher than other major terrorist attacks, such as those carried out in Madrid, Paris, London and Manchester.

So, with Isil and other like-minded Islamist groups desperate to maintain their profile following the destruction of their so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq, claiming responsibility for the Sri Lankan atrocities is an obvious ploy in their efforts to rebuild their standing.

During Isil’s hate-filled caliphate, Christians and other minorities, such as Iraq’s Yazidi sect, were frequently targeted by fanatics who refused to tolerate any group that did not subscribe to their narrow Islamist world view.

Following the caliphate’s destruction by the Us-led coalition earlier this year, the remnants of Isil’s leadership remain committed to their campaign of persecuting Christian and other non-islamic faiths, as well as nationals of countries that took part in the coalition’s military campaign. Moreover, intelligence officials say there has been an upsurge in the anti-christian rhetoric emanating from Amaq, the Isil-run news agency, in the wake of last month’s deadly attack on a New Zealand mosque by a Right-wing fanatic, in which 50 people died.

The only drawback for Isil, so far as the Sri Lankan bombings are concerned, is that, to date, the Sri Lankan authorities say they have no evidence of the group’s direct involvement. On the contrary, Sri Lankan security officials say they are conducting their investigation on the basis that the attacks were organised by local Islamist groups.

Whatever the truth about Isil’s possible involvement, the more important conclusion to be drawn from Sunday’s horrific events is that Islamist-inspired terror organisations still have the ability to carry out high profile and destructive attacks across the globe irrespective of the success the West and its allies have achieved in their long-running battle against the likes of al-qaeda and Isil.

The Sri Lankan attacks are certainly in keeping with the warnings Western intelligence officials have been giving since the caliphate’s collapse that, just because Isil has suffered a setback, it does not mean the threat has ended.

For one of the more enduring features of the modern curse of Islamist-inspired terrorism is that it is not confined to any specific area of the globe. From the inhospitable and mountainous reaches of northwestern China to the American heartlands of the Midwest, Islamist-inspired terrorists have demonstrated an unerring ability to operate in areas where they are least expected.

Sri Lanka is a case in point. Having spent the better part of 30 years involved in a bitter civil war between Tamil separatists and pro-government forces, the end of hostilities 10 years ago allowed the country to embark on the long and painful process of reconstruction and political reconciliation.

Although many issues still need to be resolved, not least the failure by Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena to investigate claims of atrocities committed by government forces against Tamil separatists at the end of the civil war, the country is seen as entering a new era, one based on political and economic stability.

Much of the country’s new-found wealth has been generated by the rapid growth of the country’s high-end tourism industry, to the extent that Lonely Planet this year named Sri Lanka as its “number one country” to visit. Moreover, as most of the country’s political tensions have arisen over long-standing disputes between the majority Sinhalese, who mainly practice Buddhism, and the Hindu Tamils, relatively little attention has been paid to the presence of radicalised elements among the country’s Muslim community, which accounts for around 10 per cent of the population.

While Sri Lankan investigators say they have yet to find any evidence of direct Isil involvement in the attacks, there are nevertheless suspicions that the Sri Lankan Islamist suspects accused of involvement may have acquired their sophisticated bombmaking techniques from Isil videos posted on the internet. This would explain the decision by the country’s security officials, who believe terrorists may be planning further attacks in Sri Lanka, to place temporary blocks on several social media websites, including Facebook and Instagram.

For, if any lesson is to be learned from the dreadful scenes witnessed in Sri Lanka over the weekend, it is that Islamist-inspired terrorism is a truly global phenomenon, one that will require a truly global response if it is ever to be completely destroyed.