ISIL eyes Central Asia as next vulnerable frontier

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Backgrounder, Geostrategy-Direct.com

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is massing thousands of jihadists on the northern border of Afghanistan for incursions into Central Asia, Russian intelligence officers said.

ISIL, which has successfully exploited weak borders is said to be weighing moves into former Soviet states Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
ISIL, which has successfully exploited weak borders is said to be weighing moves into former Soviet states Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Taliban fighters have also pledged allegiance to ISIL and are ready to join the battle as the jihadists pass through weak border control in the region, according to Alexander Bortnikov, Moscow’s intelligence chief.

Any move into Central Asia by ISIL would be seen as a direct shot at Russian President Vladimir Putin, experts say, as it would take the terror rampage into former Soviet states Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan which are still closely-aligned with Moscow.

“The international community has now hit a new geopolitical challenge, an international criminal group in the name of the Islamic State,” Bortnikov said.

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