NEW DELHI — Indian and Bangladeshi officials and security experts largely dismissed a fresh threat of violence from an Islamic State-aligned media group, insisting that safety measures and surveillance are adequate to keep militants from carrying out a Sri Lanka-style attack elsewhere in South Asia. Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion, a security force focused on combating extremist groups, told The Associated Press that he didn’t place “any great emphasis” on the threat released by the IS-aligned media group. Though the Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the 2016 Dhaka attack that killed 22 people, including 17 foreigners, Bangladeshi authorities have repeatedly denied that IS has a presence in the country. Former Indian military and intelligence officials say the Islamic State group does not appear to have much of a foothold in India, but that the diminished caliphate is far from defeated. Chula Kodituwakku, said that about 35 Sri Lankans, including Nilam’s brother and other militants and their families, are embedded with the Islamic State group in Syria.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 01, 2019 12:00 UTC