The Islamic State group (IS) has built a research center devoted to launching attacks in the West, using driverless cars and rehabilitated anti-aircraft missiles, new footage from inside the terror group reveals.
The center is in the group’s Syrian stronghold, Raqqa, where technicians from around the world have been plotting to wreak chaos outside of the self-declared caliphate’s borders, according to the group’s own fighters and members of the Syrian opposition who seized the film from an Islamic State member in Turkey.
The footage, obtained by Sky News, sheds light on a research and development arm of the organization that has long been the subject of speculation, but has not previously been confirmed.
Photo: Reuters
It also confirms accounts from IS members, as well as the fears of European intelligence agencies, that the IS is working to step up attacks in Europe following the coordinated bombing and shooting rampage that killed more than 130 people in Paris in November last year.
Among the new revelations, which the IS did not intend, are efforts to make defunct surface-to-air missiles operational again by replacing thermal batteries — a feat that has so far been beyond the capabilities of other terror groups.
The footage does not establish that such a goal has been achieved, but it does show the technological ambitions of a group that has carved out its influence in Syria and Iraq through more familiar forms of terror, such as car bombs and suicide belts.
Surface-to-air missiles falling into the hands of the IS, or any terror group, is considered near the top of worst-case scenarios for Western and regional officials. Such weapons have been repeatedly demanded by the Western-backed Syrian opposition over the past three years of the Syrian war.
However the US has insisted that none be allowed into Syria, fearing that no group could safeguard them.
Among the eight hours of video, which was seized by the Free Syrian Army and passed on to Sky News, is a segment showing IS members trying to maneuver a driverless car. They are also shown busily strapping tape and padding to a mannequin, in the hope it will give off the same heat signature as a human when it passes by imaging scanners, which are often used near sensitive buildings.
The militants’ aim to carry out terror attacks in Europe has steadily been revealed over the past three months, via a rash of propaganda videos that clearly state intended targets. More importantly though, since early last autumn, intelligence agencies have found evidence of numerous new plots in the making.
Electronic “chatter,” as well as information from defectors and still serving IS members, underscores that the group is now more intent than ever on exporting chaos to cities such as Rome, Paris, Brussels and London.
In particular, intelligence agencies fear the IS has managed to smuggle a small number of its members into Europe. They would be intended to act as sleeper cells that can train local recruits in how to carry out the attacks. There are fears that the eight hours of captured footage was to be used as a blueprint for attacks and that other members have made it through Turkey and to their destinations.
The seizure of the footage offers a rare unfettered insight into the group’s capacity to develop its skills using recruits from around the world. One militant on camera is Turkish. Another is outlining in Russian various forms of explosives that can be turned into bombs once fuses are added.
Over the past year, the Guardian has learned that technicians and scientists from European states have become essential members of the group’s operations, in particular a chemical weapons division, which manufactures poisons and gases and also attempts to weaponize chemicals seized from the Syrian regime, or sold on by corrupt officials.
Turkey had been the main conduit for the group’s highly prized teams of scientists to cross into its territory. Until about 18 months ago, it was also the main way out.
However, Ankara has since significantly tightened its 800km border, making the journey far tougher for militants. Some members of the group do continue to cross the frontier, with the southern cities of Gaziantep, Urfa and Antakya still being frequented by small numbers of IS operatives.
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