A DECADE AND HALF SINCE THE 9/11 ATTACKS; WHERE IS TERRORISM IN TODAY'S WORLD?

Exactly 15 years ago, the United States of America (USA), and indeed, the entire world was rattled by terrorist attacks by Al-qaeda on the twin towers of the world trade center, the Pentagon (the US military headquarters) and an open field at Pennsylvania.
About 2996 lives were lost and properties worth billions of dollars were also lost. It is the worst terrorist attack in history and it is doubtful if such an attack is possible again. The impact could pass as one caused by a terrible natural disaster only that it was caused by man.
The world has since moved on from 9/11 and has worked towards ensuring that the perpetuators of the attack and their allies are totally incapacitated and rooted out. The USA launched a war on terror in Afghanistan and some other countries, removing the Taliban from control of most parts of the country. It also waged war against Al-qaeda in other countries where it existed. Other Western powers like Britain joined in the war. Inspite of this, on July 7, 2005, Al-qaeda bombed a railway station in London killing several people and destroyed properties worth millions of pounds. Not to mention the other less reported attacks in countries like Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Al-qaeda has been largely weakened. This was made worse by the killing of Osama bin laden, its leader. However, terrorism is yet to end. Several terrorist groups have sprung up since then. The Boko Haram militants started in Nigeria in 2009. Now, they are a nightmare to West Africa, killing tens of thousands of people. Al-Shabaab militants were founded in 2006 in Somalia. At its peak, it controlled about half of Somalia before it was driven away. It has now extended its reach to Kenya. Ansar Dine is another terrorist group. It was founded in 2012 in Mali and took part in the Tuareg rebellion in 2012. There are many more groups which can't be mentioned due to time and space. However, terrorism today will not be complete without mentioning the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Levant), otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL. This group has taken over Al-qaeda's pride of place among terrorists. It was founded in 1999 but rose to prominence in 2014 after being under Al-qaeda since its inception. In 2014, it seized control of vast swathes of land in Iraq and Syria and named it the Islamic State. Not even a USA-led international coalition against it has been able to defeat it. What is interesting about this group is the way its ideology is easily bought by radical Muslims. Boko Haram militants pledged allegiance to ISIL; some Syrian rebels joined ISIL; some militants from Gaddafi's hometown, Sirte, pledged allegiance to ISIL; even people from Western countries like Britain are joining ISIL. Non-Muslims are even joining it and converting to Islam. They also make use of internet recruitment.
A decade and half since 9/11, it will be difficult for such an attack to be repeated by Al-qaeda on America. However, terrorism in the world is still very high. Terrorist groups now engage in direct warfare and occupation of territory in addition to the guerrilla warfare which was the conventional tactic. ISIL, Boko Haram, Ansar Dine, Al-Shabaab, etc have at some point, occupied territory.
Terrorists now make use of the internet. Some of them own social media pages and use YouTube. ISIL posts its public be headings on YouTube.
Terrorists have adopted a strategy of infiltrating crisis ridden places in addition to their conventional method of invading peaceful places and wreaking havoc on them. ISIL took advantage of the fact that Iraq and Syria are war torn and infiltrated it. Ansar Dine took advantage of the Tuareg rebellion in 2012 to gain ground in Mali.
Terrorists still have capacity to do serious damage to people. They kidnap, behead, land grab and even engage in slave trade. They displace millions from their homes. They also destroy world heritage sites. They take away the people's hope for the future. With the spread of their ideology, they also ensure their continuity.
This 15th anniversary of 9/11 presents an opportunity for world powers to look into ways of reducing terrorism. They should try as much as possible to kill the spread of ideology. Intelligence gathering should be increased as well as the capacities of security agencies. Political problems as well as other things capable of causing crisis should be avoided in order to prevent war or violence which terrorists can benefit from. Internet service providers should also prevent these people from using their services. The recently announced agreement by the USA and Russia to unite against ISIL is laudable. Despite our differences, we must rebuke terror. It respects no classification. It is a global threat.