Fear of terror attacks is shrouding the globe in the wake of successive assaults in Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq. A week ago, a bombing at the Istanbul airport killed 44, a hostage-taking incident at a restaurant in Dhaka left 22 dead over the weekend and a massive car bomb attack in Baghdad has killed at least 150 people.
The jihadist militant Islamic State group claimed accountability for the massacres in Baghdad and Dhaka. IS is also suspected of committing the terrorist attack in Istanbul.
Following the earlier tragedies in France and Belgium, it seems that the IS has already fostered cells across the world, including Asia.
A Georgetown University professor was quoted by USA Today as saying that “Since the Islamic State has suffered losses over the past two years in more conventional military operations, the extremist group is now focusing on guerilla warfare and terrorism.”
Considering that the guerilla attacks are unpredictable, any big restaurants, train stations and airports in major cities worldwide are exposed to mounting terror risks.
Nevertheless, if the G2 and other major powers jointly stage an all-out war against IS, they may be able to generate effective ways to curb the militant group’s terrorism.
At the current stage at least, major economies should prioritize combating IS rather than Brexit. Nothing is more important than citizens’ lives.
The issue is more urgent than the issue of whether Britain will reverse its referendum decision to leave the European Union or the election battles between Clinton and Trump. It would be more helpful for the EU leaders took joint measures with the U.S., China, Russia, other members of the United Nations and Muslim countries.
There is also a certain need to expand the scale of the Global Coalition for Peace, which was set up in 2014 to attack IS in Iraq.
Korea should also take the wake-up call seriously, as we reiterate that it is one of 62 countries that have joined the alliance to fight IS. In a statement issued following the Jakarta attacks early this year, the jihadist group made it clear that it would target civilians of countries in the alliance.
IS included South Korea twice as one of its future destinations for possible attacks. There is no time for the country to let down its guard.
In combating terrorism, the key lies in prevention. Terror attacks should be stopped before they occur. This requires good intelligence, so it is essential that the government builds up its intelligence capabilities.
There is no justifying the IS-led massacres, even on its own terms, as the majority of ordinary Muslims do not support the group’s practices.
