Al-Qaeda is back and spreading further than ever with strongholds in South East Asia and Africa 17 years after 9/11 terror attack
LIGHTNING-quick expansion across Iraq and Syria and a shocking propaganda campaign means ISIS has shifted the terror spotlight away from Al-Qaeda over the past five years.
But while the west's attention has been captured by the so-called Islamic State, experts warn Al-Qaeda has been re-grouping, re-organising and spreading.
The terror group now has strongholds in South East Asia – including Indonesia and the Philippines – as well as Africa and Yemen.
In the shadows, Osama bin Laden’s son - Hamza bin Laden - has reportedly started to grow into his father's shoes.
In August, a new development suggested Hamza was following in his father's footsteps - bin Laden's half-brother told he had married the daughter of the Egyptian national who flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.
On the seventeenth anniversary of 9/11 - an act of Al-Qaeda - it seems America's old foe was far from defeated by ex-President George W Bush's war on terror.
, delivered to the Security Council in July, suggested that as ISIS continued to be forced backwards in Iraq and Syria, members may well realign themselves with Al-Qaeda.
Western intelligence agencies have long feared the Hamza may become a rallying point, and able to galvanise followers.
The report noted that while there was little evidence of an immediate re-emerging direct global threat from Al-Qaeda, improved leadership and enhanced communication would increase the threat over time.
"As will any rise in the tendency, already visible in some regions, of ISIL (ISIS) supporters to join Al-Qaeda."
The report noted: “Al-Qaeda’s leadership demonstrates strategic patience and its regional affiliates exercise good tactical judgement, embedding themselves in local issues and becoming players."
This more subtle approach stands in stark contrast to ISIS, whose rapid expansion across huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 left them defending more than 34,000 square miles in Syria and Iraq, from the Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad.
Highly publicised atrocities, including the actions of masked executioner Jihadi John - real name Mohammed Emwazi - testify to ISIS's spotlight-grabbing approach.
Al-Qaeda is already stronger than ISIS in many locations, including the likes of Somalia, Yemen, and South Asia.
And there have been a few recent victories which bolster Al-Qaeda's strength further.
Controlling coastlines of Yemen
Yemen is a young country, only unified in 1990.
Since then it has been in an almost constant state of civil war, with the first breaking out in 1994.
A bubbling conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Houthis offers fertile ground for extremist and separatist groups, so it might not be surprising that it is the home to one of Al-Qaeda's most dangerous cells.
In 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - or AQAP - conquered 700km of coastline.
Africa
Al-Qaeda continues to resurge in Libya.
The mountainous areas in the west of Tunisia also continue to harbour elements of ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south an Al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition has also formed.
The group increasingly attacks and run propaganda campaigns against French, American, and other international interests in the area.
Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab also remains the dominant terrorist group in Somalia.
In early 2018, about 200 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed and others injured, which led to dispersal into smaller groups as a strategy for reorganising.
Al Shabaab commands some 4,000-6,000 active fighters, according to the US military.
According to the commander of US special operations in Africa, Marcus Hicks, both ISIS and Al-Qaeda were growing in strength in the area.
"The Al-Qaeda and ISIS inspired threats in Lake Chad Basin and here in the Sahel are very real and continue to grow in strength," He told CNN.
It was Al-Qaeda, Hicks said, that represented the greater threat, largely due to their ability to plan long-term.
He said the presence in Somalia, Mali and North Africa were taking direction from Al-Qaeda core and "walking through the Al-Qaeda playbook to develop clandestine infrastructure".
"I think they have a disciplined, patient approach to building a base that will allow them to form a caliphate when the time is right."
An enduring presence in South Asia
According to the recent UN report, although ISIS poses an immediate threat Al-Qaeda is the “intellectually stronger group” and remains a longer-term threat in South Asia as well.
Many members of the Al-Qaeda core are reported to be in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas, and the threat from Afghanistan is perceived to be growing - partly due to foreign terrorists coming from Syria and Iraq.
There is also some enduring presence in Uzbekistan - a former Soviet republic - where the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commands 500 fighters.
Al-Qaeda's newest affiliate, named Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), is relatively isolated, but the group continues to seek security gaps for opportunistic attack, according to the recent UN report.
The fledgling army already contains several hundred people, according to UN member states.
An unidentified American defence official recently said Al-Qaeda wanted to set up larger operations in India and Bangladesh to present a more local face to the population.
AQIS has recently released a which lays down a new code of conduct for jihadists all over the world to follow.
Some have interpreted the message as aiming to regain leadership of global jihad, which Al-Qaeda effectively lost to ISIS after its dramatic advance in 2014.
In Pakistan, intensive anti-terrorist efforts have led to a reduction in terrorists and training facilities.
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South-East Asia
The southern Philippines and Indonesia both have an Al-Qaeda and ISIS presence.
Despite taking some heavy losses in 2017, groups in the southern Philippines are reported to have regrouped, and reactivated training camps, bringing hundreds of follower from inside and outside the country.
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