Richard Barrett Quoted by NBC News: ISIS will remain a threat in 2018, experts warn

January 2, 2018

ISIS will remain a threat in 2018, experts warn

NBC News
By:

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The Islamic State’s so-called caliphate ends 2017 in tatters.

But after a year in which U.S.-backed forces drove ISIS militants from strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the group is far from defeated.

Analysts warn that ISIS is retreating into what some call a “virtual caliphate” from where it will attempt to inspire more lone wolf attacks in the West in an effort to remain relevant.

Richard Barrett, a former director of global counterterrorism at Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence service, said the fall of the caliphate would damage the group’s appeal to potential recruits because they can no longer sell the idea of a “perfect Islamic state …”

Barrett, the former MI6 officer, said he believes the caliphate is still a reality in the minds of ISIS fighters.

“For them the caliphate exists even if it’s only one room in one house, and they will always try to expand it back to real, significant territorial control,” he said.

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To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2016/1210/The-ISIS-breakers-How-moderate-Muslims-are-countering-extremismRichard Barrett Quoted

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