Alwaght- ISIS terrorist group has expanded threefold since the onset of the US's so-called anti-ISIS coalition airstrikes in 2014.
NBC Nightly News, based on a classified map prepared for President Barack Obama’s security briefing, said on Tuesday ISIS became operational in 18 countries around the world
According to the US National Counterterrorism Center map dated August 2016, visited by the local US media, the terrorist group that was operational in only six countries in 2014, enjoying a threefold increase, has become fully operation in 18 countries worldwide in 2016.
By 2015, according to the State Department's own numbers, there were nearly double that — 13 countries, the report added
The map also displays a new category — "aspiring branches" — and lists six countries where they're taking root: Egypt, Indonesia, Mali, the Philippines, Somalia and Bangladesh.
The heat map could probably be a lot bigger if they were to show all the aspirational regions where ISIS wants to operate and has carried out terrorist attacks.
While the US-led coalition, consisted of more than 60 nations, claims it has been carrying out airstrikes against ISIS since 2014, many regional leaders including Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian top officials have repeatedly criticized its performance, saying the coalition not only has carried out no effective operation against terrorists in Syria and Iraq but also has paved the way for their expansion in the region.
