by Yu Shuang, Assistant Research Fellow from the Center for Geopolitical Studies of Xinjiang University and Yu Wentao, PhD of international relations.
The extremist terrorist group of IS has quickly risen in the Middle East, quickly making the region a new hub for international extremism and terrorism. In 2015, this group made successive terrorist attacks in many parts of the world, indicating that its threat has spread from the Middle East to the globe.Central Asia, which is adjacent to the Middle East and suffering from extremism for a long time, has become a hardhit area of infiltration and influence by the extremist group of IS. The extremist groups either local or taking refuge in Central Asia, that used to get leadership and support from Al-Qaeda, have now surrendered to or merged with IS, spreading and advocating extremist Islam, making recruits to send to the Middle East for Jihad, and making or threatening to make terrorist attacks. As the security situation is very fragile in Central Asia, the extremist group of IS has already posed serious threat to the security of the region.