The Islamic State praises the attack without assuming paternity: a communication chase that is not a test of strength, while the threat remains alive between Syria, Iraq, Africa and South East Asia.
There Australian police made it clear that i seven men arrested on Thursday in the southwestern area of Sydney are not directly linked to two terrorists who last Sunday opened fire on the crowd gathered to celebrate theHanukkah to Bondi Beachresulting in the deaths of 15 people. The investigators speak, at most, of a possible ideological affinity. «We have no definitive links between the individuals involved in Sunday’s attack and those arrested yesterday, other than a possible commonality of ideas. At the moment there are no operational associations”, the deputy commissioner of police told ABC Radio New South Wales, Dave Hudson. The investigations, he added, are still at an early stage, even if one of the places that the arrested group apparently intended to visit was Bondi Beach.
Australian authorities believe the massacre occurred during the Jewish celebration ideologically inspired give it Islamic State. However, one point remains firm: ISIS did not claim responsibility for the attack. Yesterday, the organization jihadist she limited herself to praising the action, without ever assuming authorship. A detail that is anything but marginal. The editorial published in the latest edition of the official newsletter clarifies the group’s communication strategy al-Naba. The text dedicates ample space to the attack of Sydneybut he does it in indirect wayalongside it with a final note on the episode of Palmyrain which a supporter of the Islamic State killed three American citizens. No claims, no evidence of coordination: just an attempt to fit into the story of facts committed by othersThe editorial laments the “widespread condemnation” of the attack and criticizes the public praise of the Muslim of Syrian origin who risked his life to stop the attack, arguing that this would demonstrate how the majority of the Muslim and non-Muslim world rejects the “true cause” of jihad. A defensive narrative, which implicitly admits the isolation of the group and the failure of its ability to mobilize the masses.
Not surprisingly, al-Nabaopenly acknowledges that Islamic State it is not a mass movement, but a reality entrusted to a presumed “avant-garde”. Hence the insistence on the idea that, even if the group is hit militarilyindividuals can continue to act autonomouslybecoming radicalized online and choosing goals and times for themselves. The same editorial suggests that the authors of theSydney attack they acted independently, without operational directives or direct orders. In this context, the reference to the Australian attack appears more like a symbolic recovery operation than a show of force. ISIS appears to be chasing events that have already happened to stay relevant in the global jihadist debate, not leading them. A script already seen: when it cannot claim, the group comments, praises, frames it ideologically. But the lack of a formal claim remains a clear sign of its current limits. The editorial finally ends with an appeal to Muslims in Europe, in particular to refugees in Belgiumso that exploit the Christmas holiday period to attack Christians and Jewsand with an attack on the new Syrian government, accused of collaborating with the United States against jihadism. Here too, more propaganda than real power. The message that emerges is clear: Islamic State did not direct the Sydney attack and is not in control of it. His subsequent intervention does not strengthen the organization on a propaganda level, but photographs its current phase: that of a group that is sometimes forced to chase the violence of others to remain visible in the jihadist media space. This, however, does not equate to a loss of danger. On the contrary, it Islamic State can still count on thousands of fightersclandestine networks and sleeper cells ready to activate when operating conditions allow. Above all, the threat remains real in Syria and Iraqwhere the group maintains military capabilities, command structures and a widespread territorial presence in less controlled areas. Likewise, Africa today remains one of the main theaters of jihadist expansionfrom the Sahel at Lake Chad Basinuntil Somalia et al Mozambiquewhere the branches of the Islamic State continue to attack security forces and civilians. The propaganda pursuit of events not directly controlled is therefore not a sign of irrelevance, but the indicator of a adaptive strategy: fewer formal claims, more ideological inspiration. A mutation that makes the less visible group, but no less lethal.
