The weekend death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has fueled a massive surge in interest in a group whose defeats in Iraq and Syria had made them less and less relevant. Worryingly, on social media the surge is broadly pro-ISIS.
Far from being consigned to the annals of history, the death of Baghdadi has given ISIS supporters, and there are still a lot of them out there, a chance to remind everyone that they are still a thing, and try to drum up new support.
In the near term, this might mean revenge attacks. One ISIS prisoner was predicting a big ISIS attack in Europe, saying that he didn’t believe Baghdadi’s death would be a big impact, saying another leader will crop up.
That’s the way major terror groups have been, historically, and predictions of retaliation aren’t so outlandish. If anything, new leaders are often eager to put their brand on the position with a big, high-profile attack.
Baghdadi’s Death Fuels Surge in Pro-ISIS Social Media Posts
ISIS prisoner predicts attack in Europe over death
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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