​Force of ideas: On the New Orleans truck attack

The truck attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans, on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people and wounding 30, suggests that the threat of low-tech, lone wolf attacks has not gone away. The attacker, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an American citizen who had served in the military, was killed in a shoot-out. Police found an Islamic State (IS) flag and explosives in his truck. Just hours earlier, Jabbar had posted videos on social media, indicating that he was inspired by the IS. In recent months, the IS, a terrorist organisation founded in Iraq and Syria, and now present across geographies, has released propaganda videos asking its “soldiers” to strike during celebrations in western cities in the holiday season. A few hours after the New Orleans attack, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing at least one person and injuring several. Police later said Jabbar, the suspected New Orleans attacker, did not act alone, and are investigating any potential link between the truck attack and the cybertruck explosion.

The IS, which lost its physical Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, has been trying to revive its lost fortunes. The terror group survived as an insurgency, shifted its centre of operations to Afghanistan (Islamic State-Khorasan), where it carries out attacks, targeting the country’s Shia minority, and opened new networks in Africa. When the IS was at its peak in 2014-15, it had successfully globalised terror — any sympathiser could hold the IS flag, declare loyalty to the ‘Caliph’ and unleash attacks against the “infidels”. World cities, from Dhaka to Orlando and Istanbul to Belgium, witnessed dozens of IS-inspired attacks. These have ebbed, partly due to the destruction of the IS ‘caliphate’ and partly due to enhanced security measures and deradicalisation programmes. But now that Syria is in transition following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the IS is trying to rebuild itself. Kurdish fighters in Syria’s east, who played a pivotal role in defeating the Islamists in 2015-16, say IS militants have looted government weapons’ depots and are preparing for a comeback. The New Orleans attack should serve as a warning signal for the U.S. The IS should not be allowed to regain a foothold in conflict-ridden West Asia. Besides, the U.S. should also get to the roots of the radicalisation of American citizens and counter it. Organisations such as the IS should be fought with both force and ideas.