Media buys help the Islamic State gain South Asia foothold

The Islamic State has shown considerable savvy in its use of social and online media to attract attention and converts as it has waged terror in Iraq and Syria. Moreover, the group has used these platforms to help it eclipse Al-Qaeda in notoriety and influence since the two groups formally split from each other 11 months ago.

With the international forces pullout from Afghanistan in December 2014-and the expected freeing-up of militants to carry out operations in India and Pakistan- the Islamic State is now buying up former Al-Qaeda media outlets in South Asia as it seeks to establish primacy among jihadist groups in the region. And it is using revenues from black-market sales of oil from areas under its control to fund these ventures (see figure).

Traditionally, the Global Islamic Media Front, one of the oldest English-language jihadist media houses, Ansarullah Media, and Bab-ul-Islam online forums have been controlled by Al-Qaeda or its affiliates-the latter two becoming umbrella media organizations for jihadist news because of their capacity to cover content in multiple languages, including Arabic, Bahasa Bangla, English, Pashto, Russian, Turkish and Urdu. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's messages and exhortations have always been given priority.

In recent months, these sites have all drifted toward Islamic State content, to the almost total exclusion of Al-Qaeda or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) coverage. Notably, al-Zawahiri's announcement of the formation of an Al-Qaeda branch on the Indian subcontinent received no coverage on these sites.

The Islamic State has greater financial strength than Al- Qaeda and the TTP, allowing it to offer militant factions and their media operations large sums of money to switch allegiances. The Karachi-based Tehreek-e-Khilafat has already publicly switched its loyalties. Social media monitoring indicates that Omar Khalid Khurasani, the deposed head of the TTP's Mohmand Agency chapter, has entertained offers from the Islamic State and is likely to swear allegiance to them.

While, for now, it is unlikely that the Islamic State will be able to support such branches with material resources beyond money, obtaining the loyalties of these groups provides the Islamic State with an operational foothold in South Asia that could see these groups change their operational focus.

Ultimately, the groups may modify their target patterns to bring them more in line with the Islamic State- focusing on kidnapping Westerners, especially in Afghanistan; attacking Western targets such as hotels and embassies in Pakistan, rather than government forces and institutions; and pursuing high-profile targets in India such as parliament, the stock exchange, and locations where there are large contingents of foreigners.

Omar Hamid Head of Asia-Pacific, IHS Country Risk
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