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The French government says the suspects accused of plotting last week’s Moscow shootings belong to an ISIS branch that has attempted several terrorist attacks in France.
“This particular group has made many attempts on our territory,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday during a visit to French Guyana, according to Le Monde newspaper, adding that ISIS’ Afghan branch He referred to Islamic State Khorasan (Islamic State Khorasan) or ISIS-K.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said France had thwarted two attempted attacks this year alone, according to Reuters. Attal said the group is also planning attacks on other European countries.
The comments came days after ISIS claimed responsibility for the Moscow concert hall shooting that left 133 people dead and 147 injured, Russian authorities said, according to TASS news agency.
France has since raised its terror alert level to the highest level of “urgent attack” and warned the public that it would tighten security in sensitive areas such as schools, places of worship, religious gatherings and transport links. France also offered to strengthen cooperation with Russia to find the perpetrators.
France, which has experienced numerous ISIS-related terrorist attacks, including the 2015 Bataclan concert attack and the 2016 Bastille Day ramming attack in Nice, is already on high alert ahead of this year’s Paris Olympics. He was preparing himself. summer.
Italian officials discussed the Moscow attack at Monday’s National Security Council meeting, where they also announced stronger security checks and surveillance. According to the Associated Press, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that police will monitor sporting events and shopping malls.
Germany, which is scheduled to host the European Championships later this year, has so far said the threat “remains serious” but has not updated its security stance, according to DW. About.
ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks around the world in recent years. In January, it claimed to be behind a bomb attack on a monument to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by the United States in 2020. In 2021, while the Biden administration was withdrawing from Afghanistan, the group carried out a suicide bombing that killed 13 American soldiers. And civilians.
“We are watching it very closely.”
Western allies have become increasingly alarmed in recent months by the rapidly increasing threat posed by ISIS-K. Britain has also warned about ISIS-K and last year organized a forum to discuss the threat, Bloomberg reported. Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, ISIS has found a fertile breeding ground, planning attacks on embassies, churches and FIFA World Cup tournaments across Europe and Asia, according to leaks from the Pentagon.
The State Department said the Taliban has since “struggled” to dismantle the ISIS-K clan and thwart attacks.
“While the Taliban have made progress in the fight against ISIS-K, they are struggling to dismantle ISIS-K’s clandestine urban cells and prevent attacks on soft targets,” said the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Deputy Special Envoy Ian McCurry said in remarks last Thursday.
Last year, Germany and the Netherlands arrested an ISIS-K network of Tajik, Turkmen, and Kyrgyz people who were planning attacks in Germany.
U.S. officials say ISIS lost its strongholds in Iraq and Syria several years ago, but has increasingly relied on regional affiliates such as ISIS-K to plan attacks against Western countries and Western interests. ing. A U.S. intelligence report earlier this month assessed that ISIS’s “regional affiliates continue to expand.”
White House National Security Council communications adviser John Kirby said in a conference call Monday that U.S. intelligence agencies currently do not see a “credible threat” to the United States from ISIS, but that they are still closely monitoring ISIS. Told.
“As far as ISIS in general and ISIS-K in particular, we are also very vigilant in monitoring the activities of this group and its plans as much as possible,” Kirby said. “We’re monitoring that very closely.”
The heightened alert around the world comes after the Biden administration earlier this month warned of the possibility of an “imminent” attack by extremists on crowds in Moscow and called on Americans to avoid large gatherings. That’s what I received. Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored the warning and accused Western countries of trying to cause chaos in Russia.
In an effort to shift the blame to Kiev, the Russian government has accused the terrorist suspects of having ties to Ukraine and warned that Russia may be trying to use the shooting incident as a pretext to escalate the war in Ukraine. It’s ringing. Ukraine denies involvement.
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