The Islamic State remains active, despite the coronavirus. It did instruct its followers to steer clear of coronavirus-stricken Europe, although it boasted that the virus was a “painful torment” against “crusader nations,” and added a prayer:
We ask God to increase their torment and save the believers from all that.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State continues its bloody jihad elsewhere. The group raided the Mozambique town of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province, a strategically important town with liquid natural gas projects worth $60 billion. The jihadists occupied the town for a full day.
“The attack was the boldest yet in a series of assaults that began in the same town in October 2017 and has left hundreds of people dead. It’s also raised risks for companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA, which are building LNG-export projects estimated to cost almost $60 billion….Militants took over the town in the pre-dawn raid, destroying various infrastructure and burning vehicles, before withdrawing later that night.”
Although the town reportedly returned to “calm,” this clearly isn’t the end of such raids. It is disturbing that the Islamic State is rising again, this time in Africa. It has joined forces with al-Qaeda in West Africa, and has carried out raids killing dozens of soldiers and civilians. It also seeks to build a caliphate in the Sahel region, after failing to maintain its caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Its actions in Mozambique show that it has also set its sights upon East Africa.
“Islamic State Claims Bold Raid on Strategic Mozambique Town,” by Matthew Hill, Bloomberg, March 25, 2020:
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in northern Mozambique near an area where natural-gas projects worth billions of dollars are being developed, SITE Intelligence Group said.
The March 23 raid on the town of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province was carried out by members of Islamic State’s Central Africa Province unit, SITE, which monitors militant groups, said on its website.
The attack was the boldest yet in a series of assaults that began in the same town in October 2017 and has left hundreds of people dead. It’s also raised risks for companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA, which are building LNG-export projects estimated to cost almost $60 billion. Mocimboa da Praia, a coastal town situated in a district that’s home to 130,000 people, is about 60 kilometers (38 miles) from the LNG projects and along the road that connects them to the rest of Mozambique.
Read More: Militants Occupy Mozambican Town Near Planned LNG Projects (2)
Militants took over the town in the pre-dawn raid, destroying various infrastructure and burning vehicles, before withdrawing later that night. Mozambique’s defense and interior ministers visited the scene the next day, and calm is slowly returning to the town, state-owned Radio Mocambique reported, citing Council of Ministers spokesman Filimão Suzi. Officials haven’t said if there were any fatalities….