By Jon Lockett

LONDON – In the latest attack, Islamic State (IS) militants reportedly beheaded more than 50 people during a brutal attack in northern Mozambique. Scores of women and children were abducted in Nanjaba village, while more than 50 were killed in a gruesome attack on Muatide village.

Villagers who tried to flee were reportedly taken to a nearby football pitch where they were beheaded and their bodies then butchered.

The attack hammered home how the terror group’s blood-soaked tentacles have taken hold in some of the world’s most unlikely places.

Here are some of the countries which are feared to still harbour the cult’s ruthless killers…

Mozambique

ISIS-linked militants beheaded more than 50 people in a brutal attack in the north of Mozambique in November 2020. They turned a football pitch into an “execution ground” as they chopped up the bodies of villagers in the Cabo Delgado province. The militants have stepped up their offensive in the African nation and violently seized swathes of territory, terrorising citizens in the process. The extremists have killed more than 2,000 people during their reign of terror in the region since 2017

Iraq

Despite Iraq declaring victory over ISIS in 2017, jihadis have already “substantially evolved into a covert network”, say regional experts.

Militant fighters are still active in rural areas hiding in rugged terrain which enables them to plan surprise attacks. These areas include the deserts of Anbar and Nineveh provinces and mountain regions of Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Diyala.

An October 2020 report by the Centre for Strategic Studies stated the group is still a “real threat” in its old battleground.

India

In 2019, it was reported the Indian government approved funding to open research on ISIS terror cells in the country. Dozens of new jobs were created in India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a bid to combat the   network. Minister Rajnath Singh said: “Terror funding is a big factor in promoting terrorism. The way NIA performed its role (has led) to a decline in terror funding.”

ISIS now claims to have established a “province” in India for the first time, declaring a foothold in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Turkey

After the fall of the former ISIS strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, thousands of jihadis fled the areas in fear of their lives. Many are believed to be now in hiding out in Turkey – waiting for the green light to carry out more atrocities. The problem was highlighted when a lone gunman killed 39 clubbers in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve 2016. In November 2020, 17 homes in 11 districts of Istanbul were stormed and 17 terror suspects were arrested with links to ISIS.

Syria

Thousands of ISIS jihadis are still active in Syria and the number of attacks is on the rise – says the UN’s counter-terrorism chief. Vladimir Voronkov told the Security Council that Islamic State fighters regularly move freely “in small cells” between Syria and Iraq. He revealed the extremist group has regrouped and its activity has increased not only in conflict zones but also in some regional outposts.

Voronkov said: “There is a continued trend of attacks by individuals inspired online and acting alone or in small groups.”

Nigeria and Niger

Boko Haram represents ISIS in Nigeria. The group continually carries out attacks against government forces. The militant group’s reign of terror has spread across Africa. Human rights groups have even claimed the group has started using babies as suicide bombers. In 2018, ISIS released a horrific video appearing to show the final moments of four US soldiers who were ambushed in Niger.

Tunisia

ISIS launched a notorious bloody attack on a Sousse beach in 2015 killing 38 people – including 30 British tourists. Since then, country had been dogged by regular gun and bomb attacks inspired by the group. In August 2020, ISIS claimed a knife attack in a Tunisian coastal city which left one security officer dead. A post circulated on social media said the terrorist group was responsible for the attack in Sousse.

Jordan

In 2018, Jordan’s authorities arrested 17 ISIS members who were planning numerous attacks on “sensitive” locations. The country’s border guards are now on a constant state of alert over fears of ISIS jihadis fleeing Syria. In June 2017, a suicide attack left seven security forces dead. It was the first attack of its kind targeting Jordan’s borders. And just last year the authorities revealed they foiled a terrorist plot by a cell of four members supporting ISIS.

Libya

Even though ISIS lost the battle in Libya it still has secret cells located outside many of the country’s main cities. However, some estimates suggest its fighting force in Libya has now dropped from thousands to just hundreds. Libya is still seen as crucial to the group as they see it as a launchpad to attack Europe. In August 2020, experts claimed the terror group remains a “persistent threat” and could soon rise again.

Russia

There have been growing reports of ISIS activity in Russia and the group claimed responsibility for a terror attack in St. Petersburg in 2017. In October 2015 a bomb downed a Russian plane flying over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, killing 224 people. An ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was in retaliation for airstrikes in Syria. The terror group recently released a video stating: “The kafir throats will tremble from the knives. The Kremlin will be ours.”

Yemen

ISIS is still active in central and southern Yemen – launching regular attacks on the authorities. While the civil war has made it easier for ISIS to grow, the fighters also clash with the strong al-Qaeda presence in the troubled country. The US has carried out numerous attacks on ISIS targets in Yemen because of the threat posed by the terror group there. Late ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi boasted just last year that he had active terror cells operating in the country.

Egypt

Egypt, and particularly the northern Sinai region, has long been an ISIS stronghold in North Africa. Terrorists were carrying the ISIS flag when they killed 305 people during an attack on a Sinai mosque in November 2017. And during Christmas that year, a gunman shot dead nine worshippers at a Christian church in Cairo. In October 2020, more than a dozen civilians died during multiple bomb attacks on the Sinai Peninsula.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a key stronghold for ISIS as its fighters there don’t face the same restrictions as they did in Syria and Iraq. In 2018, ISIS had around 10,000 fighters in Afghanistan – fighting against both the Taliban and governmental forces. The terror group’s main presence is in eastern Afghanistan in the Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. In August 2020, militants attacked a prison in Jalalabad in a bid to free imprisoned ISIS fighters, in one of the group’s deadliest attacks to date.

Algeria

ISIS-AP is a branch of the terror group known to be active in Algeria, which was formerly known as Jund al-Khilafah fi Ard al-Jazair. It’s was thought at one stage that the group’s late leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been hiding out in Algeria. A suicide attack on a police station in the west of country killed in 2017 two policeman after one officer jumped on the attacker to protect his colleagues from the blast.

Meanwhile, Algeria recently announced plans to strengthen its borders to stop militants sneaking in.

Burkina Faso

A 30-strong death squad stormed a Catholic church and slaughtered at least six people in Burkina Faso in 2019. The government declared a state of emergency in several provinces bordering Mali over deadly Islamist attacks by groups with links to ISIS. Two French soldiers were also killed in an operation to rescue four people taken hostage in Burkina Faso early in May. Roughly 60% of Burkina Faso’s population is Muslim, with up to a quarter Christian.

Pakistan

As with the Taliban around the time of 9/11, it’s hard to say whether ISIS fighters are located in Pakistan or Afghanistan because of the porousness of the border. It’s possible that ISIS will spread beyond these two countries and conduct attacks in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in central Asia as well. ISIS is especially active in the north of the country and was behind the abduction and killing of two Chinese nationals in 2017. In May 2019, ISIS declared new ‘Pakistan Province’ and ‘India Province’ branches after claiming attacks in Balochistan and Kashmir.

Sri Lanka

Last year, ISIS claimed responsibility for the brutal bombings in Sri Lanka which killed 256 people on Easter Sunday. The ISIS’ Amaq news agency has claimed the terrorists involved in the attacks were “fighters of the Islamic State.” Then Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the extremists were helped by an “international network” of terrorists. Sri Lanka has seen dozens of depraved ISIS soldiers returning to their country following the collapse of their so-called caliphate.

Note: The Sri Lankan military has rejected the claims as false, saying no ISIS operative will be allowed to enter the country.

Philippines

ISIS had a strong presence in Mindanao in the south in 2017, even managing to control the city of Marawi for a period of time. Reports in 2018 indicate ISIS’ power has diminished after local organizations cooperated with government to rout them out. However, it’s estimated ISIS still has hundreds of fighters lurking in the island nation.

Indonesia

The threat from Islamist extremism remains high, although the Indonesian authorities are working 24/7 to combat attacks. On 14 May 2018 there was a huge explosion at a security post of police headquarters in Surabaya, causing a number of deaths and casualties. Just 24 hours earlier there were explosions at three churches in Surabaya in East Java causing a number of deaths and casualties. In January 2016 a terrorist attack took place near the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel and Sarinah Plaza on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in central Jakarta.

China

ISIS has made no secret of the fact it sees China as its next major global target – after securing a recruiting foothold in the country’s badlands. In a recent video, the group pledged to “shed blood like rivers” in attacks against Chinese targets.The group said: “We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons.It added it would “shed blood like rivers and avenging the oppressed.”

The Maldives

This string of tropical islands is best known for their sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters and loved-up honeymooners. But the tiny island chain, with its population of just 345,000, is now becoming infamous as a fertile recruiting ground for ISIS. But away from the crystal clear waters, the Muslim country, which has seen a rise in extremism in recent years. From a population of 400,000, as many as 200 young Maldivians are believed to have fled to the Middle East to fight for ISIS.

Trinidad and Tobago

Fears are growing the idyllic tourist destination of Trinidad and Tobago could face a new wave of terror attacks from returning ISIS jihadis. Incredibly, the beautiful Caribbean nation, home to just 1.3 million people, has the highest rate of ISIS foreign recruitment in the Western hemisphere. Some 125 nationals are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the barbaric group’s failing attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate. It is feared these jihadis could one day return and start launching attacks on embassies or tourist groups.

Chad and Mali

Both these countries have faced a strong ISIS presence because of their own instability. It is has been long rumoured that five countries in West Africa – Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania – are joining forces to fight ISIS. In 2017, a “large cache of different types of weapons” including machine guns intercepted by Chadian authorities on its way to Boko Haram

-This article was originally featured on thesun.co.uk