Expert Says London Bridge Attack Shows Islamic State Still Has Bite
Prof. Fawaz Gerges tells The Media Line that the lone-wolf phenomenon is ‘resilient, particularly the Usman Khan variety’
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s stabbing rampage in London that killed two people and wounded three others.
The attacker, a 28-year-old British man named Usman Khan – who spent six years in prison in connection with a plot to blow up London’s stock exchange and other targets – was overpowered by passers-by on London Bridge and then shot dead by police.
ISIS was forced to go underground earlier this year, being stripped in March of the last tracts of land it held as part of its self-described caliphate. At the end of October, it lost its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who blew himself up during a US Special Forces raid in Syria.
Yet it still has a bite, judging from London and other attacks by so-called lone wolves.
To learn more, The Media Line spoke with Prof. Fawaz Gerges, an internationally recognized expert on Islamic State at the London School of Economics, and author of the 2016 book ISIS: A History.
