ISIS's Regional Campaign: May 2016

ISIS continued to set conditions for Ramadan by launching attacks within and along the periphery of the Muslim world in order to foster regional disorder and push the boundaries of its caliphate contiguous to non-Muslim lands. The group is expanding its footprint to the edges of non-Muslim lands, as shown by arrests in Ingushetia, Russia and escalating attacks in majority-Muslim areas in Bangladesh and the Philippines and in Pakistan. ISIS is likely preparing to launch new affiliates in Bangladesh and the Philippines during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on June 6. ISIS is also continuing its campaign to weaken regional power centers, as shown by an attack in the Egyptian capital and a thwarted attack in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, indicating ISIS may be planning to attack Mecca during Ramadan. ISIS continued operation “The Invasion of Abu Ali an-Anbari,” declared on April 30, 2016, by claiming attacks in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Egypt, indicating the ability to synchronize a single campaign across multiple wilayats before Ramadan. The group demonstrated its resiliency in its core terrain despite anti-ISIS offensives through continued attacks around Baghdad, Iraq and even launching the new Wilayat Sahel in Syria on May 23, 2016.