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A few hours after the terrorist attack on the PulseGayClub in Orlando, the bloodiest since September 11, the Amaq news agency, the propaganda arm of the Islamic State, published in English and Arabic that "the attack, which targeted a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and caused more than 100 deaths and injuries, was carried out by an Islamic State fighter." In addition, it called on would-be "lone wolves" who would embrace its ideology in the future to carry out more attacks against gay communities everywhere.
Of course, the Amaq report does not lead to the assessment that the 29-year-old American citizen of Afghan origin, Omar Mateen, received a personal order from the Islamic State. The most likely scenario is that Mateen was inspired by the Caliphate's propaganda, without however being a member of the jihadist organization or having contact with its leaders. Adam Schiff, a member of Congress and a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, stated that the American authorities have reason to believe that Mateen swore allegiance to the Islamic State before the attack. In other words, the perpetrator sought to be consistent with the orders-incitements of the Islamic State to its would-be supporters.
Let us recall that Tashfeen Malik, one of the two terrorists in the San Bernardino, California massacre (December 2, 2015), where 14 people lost their lives, swore allegiance (bayah) to the leader of the Islamic State, during the first minutes of the attack. In other words, Malik tried, even at the last moment, to be consistent with the orders of the Islamic State propagandists and published on Facebook, while the terrorist attack was taking place, her obedience to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Amedy Coulibaly, who attacked a Jewish grocery store in eastern Paris, in January 2015, did something similar. Specifically, shortly before the attack, he videotaped his oath of allegiance to Baghdadi. 
But what are these orders-incitements of the Islamic State? The answer is found in the 12th edition of the English-language magazine Dabiq, entitled “JustTerror”, where the Islamic State explicitly states that “every would-be supporter must register (state) his will, renew his oath of obedience, raise the banner of the Caliphate, strike the crusaders and their pagan and apostate allies, wherever he can find them, even if he is alone.” Therefore, the Islamic State not only encourages its supporters, as “lone wolves”, to carry out attacks in their countries of origin-residence, but also asks them to document their submission to the Caliphate, by announcing their oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In this way, the Islamic State maintains its primacy in the global jihad, over its rival Al Qaeda. Especially at this current stage, when the Caliphate is gradually losing territory in Syria and Iraq, the proliferation of terrorist attacks against Western targets is considered particularly necessary and useful by its leadership.

It is impossible for the authorities to know the ideology, prejudices or hatred of each individual. Therefore, it is very difficult to identify would-be "lone wolves" before their attacks. For its part, the Islamic State has a particularly "lethal weapon", social networks, through which its approximately 50 members spread its propaganda on a 24-hour basis worldwide. It publishes publications, such as the monthly magazine Dabiq, which promotes its ideology, praises the attacks of "lone wolves" and glorifies jihad. It is almost certain that one of the next issues of Dabiq will mention Omar Mateen. In this way, the proliferation of other imitators will continue, as may have happened with 25-year-old Larossi Abballa in Paris, about 24 hours after the attack in Orlando. Additionally, it publishes Kybernetiq, through which it trains individuals with radical tendencies in digital technology, encryption, and communications security in general. It is possible that Kybernetiq could be used in the future to train a jihadist cyber-army, with the aim of carrying out attacks on Western targets.
The Islamic State trains its members worldwide to infiltrate the social fabric of their host countries. In fact, an al-Qaeda manual titled “Guidelines for the Security of Lone Wolves – Mujahideen” has been released to train its members on how to avoid detection by authorities. It is not clear whether Mateen read this manual. However, the manual recommends carrying out attacks in nightclubs, where the attention of hundreds of patrons is distracted by loud music, making it easier to cause dozens of casualties.

All of this poses a serious problem for the authorities of many Western countries, as they are called upon to confront the propaganda carried out by the Islamic State via the internet. A particularly deadly propaganda, which, before the first half of 2016 was over, led to at least 12 terrorist attacks outside Syria and Iraq, resulting in the loss of more than 200 lives and the injury of several hundred.
The issue also touches on the Greek reality, as a "death list" with thousands of targets of the Islamic State was recently published, targets with names and surnames, which also includes Greeks. Many unanswered questions, at least for now. Does the EYP have this list? Does it know the targets in Greece? Has it informed them? Has it taken any measures? Is it a matter of time before "lone wolves" carry out a jihadist attack in Greece?

Republished: www.geostrategy.gr