Many lives of terror

“These IS affiliates have different leaders, with different faces but with the same language of hate.

US President Donald Trump said “said he died like a dog” on Sunday, his mortal body ripped when he detonated his suicide vest after he was cornered in a cave by the raiding US Special Forces.

He allegedly took with him his three children.

The most wanted man in the world before the US announcement of his death, al-Baghdadi had a $25 million reward on top of his head.

It was said he had checked in at his location in Syria just 48 hours prior to the US raid. But was the dead man al-Baghdadi?

On 16 June 2017, Russia claimed to have killed the Islamic State terror group leader in an airstrike also in Syria.

That claim was made barely a month after the Russian Defense Ministry said the same al-Baghdadi was killed in another Russian strike in late May that same year along with other senior group commanders.

Previous reports of al-Baghdadi being killed had also been made prior, but all of them were false.

If this latest news is accurate, however, it will deal the IS a significant blow. But it will not be enough to stop the terror group from stemming with its bloodstained reach over countries and continents where believers in a world caliphate thrive.

It’s an extremist ideology that took the fangs out of previous ideologies which have championed overthrowing governments. This showed no mercy to others whom its followers considered as infidels.

From 9-11, when its father — the al-Qaeda — had proved it had no need for a stockpile of arms to rock the world’s strongest military and economic power, terrorism had taken new names and faces that even with al-Baghdadi’s death, the Islamic warriors would live and continue with what they believe could be achieved — a world of Islam based on Sunni extremism.

The violent death of al-Baghdadi would not freeze attempts by IS franchises around the globe from sowing terror and fear.

The IS regenerates. Its fighters are getting younger and younger.

Afghanistan has Islamic schools attracting new recruits. US efforts to buy “peace” could not gain ground in the former Taliban country.

Nigeria has the Boko Haram, yet another name for the same face of terror.

Libya’s civil war has IS warriors fighting their own cause.

The Philippines could not be far away from all these. Remember Marawi.

Yet, these IS affiliates have different leaders, with different faces but with the same language of hate.

Even al-Baghdadi made himself scarce from his followers, except in some event when he needed to surface in videos to rally his men to war.

IS followers have also taken steps to innovate.

With port security on its tightest since the 9-11 attack of al-Qaeda, IS followers have launched different kinds of attacks.

First, they started with rampage shootings, bombings, then knife attacks, coffee shop shootings, bombings of concerts and sports events, ramming of automobiles on park promenaders.

All victims were innocent civilians. All of them were non-fighters.

Some of them did not care about religion. Any religion.

But whether we are in Marawi or Quiapo, Strasbourg or anywhere, we remain facing the risks of terror.