Is the Islamic State making a comeback? Analyzing its evolving tactics and global attacks.

VIENNA, Feb 18 — The Islamic State (IS), once controlling large territories in Syria and Iraq, is attempting a comeback in the Middle East, the West, and Asia.

On February 1, IS’s Afghan branch, ISIS-K, called for lone wolf attacks in the U.S. and Europe following a deadly truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was reportedly inspired by IS, according to the FBI.

In Austria, authorities suspect a Syrian man accused of a fatal stabbing in Villach was radicalized online by IS.

IS Operations and Changing Tactics

Despite being largely crushed by a U.S.-led coalition, IS has regrouped, carrying out deadly attacks, including:

A concert hall attack in Russia (March 2024, 143 killed)

Explosions in Iran’s Kerman city (January 2024, nearly 100 killed)

A suicide attack on a mosque in Oman (2023, nine killed)

IS has shifted tactics from holding territory to operating in decentralized cells, with an estimated 10,000 fighters in its strongholds. In Africa, IS-linked groups have carried out massacres in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while affiliates control swathes of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Though the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre says IS's global threat is at a low point, it warns that its African branches are expanding rapidly. — Reuters