By Luke Hunt
The foiled terrorist strikes this year are an ugly omen of more to come.
This year was promising to be a particularly brutal one. Islamic militants have increasingly taken their terror campaigns to the streets of major Western cities –Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and the Lindt cafe siege in Sydney – with chilling effect.
Then, as the traditional “killing season” approaches in Afghanistan and Iraq, further attacks aimed at the Anzac Day parade in Melbourne were foiled, another 17 people were arrested in Malaysia for planning a series of high-profile kidnappings and terror-styled strikes, and two gunmen were shot dead in Texas after opening fire on a cartoon contest featuring right wing politicians and pictures of the Muslim prophet, Mohammad.
Malaysian police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, said the 17 men were believed to have been inspired by the “Takfiri ISIL” terrorist group, with attacks planned for Kuala Lumpur and the nearby capital Putrajaya. Raids on police stations – to obtain weapons – and banks – for cash – were also planned.
Takfiri refers to Muslims who denounce apostasy. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levanth (ISIL) – led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – is often shortened to the Islamic State, or IS.
Authorities in Malaysia have struggled with regional and home grown Islamic terrorist outfits that first emerged in unison with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and began asserting themselves in the late 1990s, intensifying in the aftermath of the 9/11 strikes on the United States.
That has changed with militias associated with the self-anointed Islamic State (IS) stepping into a power vacuum across Iraq and Syria, supplanting influence once held by al-Qaeda, and inspiring young Muslims around the world to emulate terrorists strikes with tragic consequences.
Read the full story at The Diplomat