The Islamic State (ISIS) is planning to kill "all Japanese citizens and interest—wherever they may be found'' and to expand its operations in Bangladesh, a strategic U.S. ally in South Asia, even as fears of terror attacks are still being felt in the Middle East and Europe.
The extremist group also plans to take over a military base in Iraq, another U.S. ally following the downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime.
The new warnings, attacks and goals are contained in the latest edition of the ISIS magazine Dabiq that was released online on Wednesday, the NBC News reported.
The 65-page magazine reportedly details ISIS activities for the future and provides new information on how the terror group has evolved into a sophisticated military operation that has won a "string of victories.''
Since it began operations in 2014, the terror group has taken over towns and military bases in Iraq and Yemen, capturing huge caches of weapons—some of them American—including missiles, artillery canons, wireless devices, and night-vision scopes, the report said.
The magazine also boasts about ISIS plans to murder all Japanese citizens and destroy their businesses "wherever they are found,'' claiming that the country has been supporting the U.S. in its anti-ISIS operations.
In one of the articles, ISIS also describes Bangladesh as "a new battleground" as it continues its strategic expansion.
"This is deeply worrisome, and very significant for the simple reason of Bangladesh's proximity to India and the porousness of the border," said Sumit Ganguly, director of the Center on American and Global Security at Indiana University Bloomington, a South Asia expert who consults various U.S. government agencies.
"If indeed ISIS is taking root in Bangladesh, it bodes ill for the future of a very fragile democracy, and it is one more major Muslim country in danger of radicalisation," he added.
Conrad Crane, a historian at the Army War College, said the latest developments "add to the already worrisome trajectory of ISIS as a growing military power."
"Their expanded capabilities greatly increase the difficulty in dealing with the problem set that they present. They are not just a regional problem anymore. They have been pretty adept at capturing important sites, including weapons," said Crane, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who co-authored the U.S. military's Iraq War counter-insurgency field manual, said NBC News.
The ISIS report also provides additional details about attacks in Paris and Beirut, the downing of the Russian passenger plane, and the slaying of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella, 50, who was shot while jogging in Bangladesh
ISIS members also killed Kunio Hoshi in the Bangladesh city of Rangpur, just five days after the attack on Tavella, the report said. Hoshi was reportedly murdered because he was a citizen of Japan, a country supporting the U.S.
