According to media reports, the head of Interpol has recently said that a growing number of extremist groups from Africa to southeast Asia are shifting their allegiance to the Islamic State terror group. This is leading to greater risks for “cross-pollination” among conflicts beyond Syria and Iraq and for access to resources to carry out more sophisticated attacks abroad.
Secretary General of Interpol, Juergen Stock cited this shift as an emerging trend at the UN Security Council meeting on Friday along with changing dynamics in the travel methods that are being used by foreign fighters seeking to join groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Stock was a keynote speaker at the open council meeting attended by half a dozen ministers to assess progress in implementing a resolution adopted last September. The resolution required all countries to prevent the recruitment and transport of “would-be” or potential foreign fighters preparing to join extremist groups.