What recent spike in Ramadan terror attacks tells us about ISIS
What is meant to be one of the holiest and peaceful months on the Islamic calendar approached its end with three separate suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia. There have been no official claims of responsibility, but ISIS is being eyed as the likely suspect.
Saudi Arabia has been dealing with an Al Qaeda and ISIS presence for years. In June, the Interior Ministry reported there had been 26 terror attacks in the last two years. Monday's bombings are the latest example of ISIS trying to "deepen its reach inside the kingdom," said CBS News national security analyst Juan Zarate.
"These coordinated attacks demonstrate they developed an infrastructure, and surely the Saudi government is going to try to wrest that out and try to squash it before it gets even more dangerous," Zarate told "CBS This Morning" Tuesday.
That's what they did in 2003, after deadly terrorist attacks at housing compounds in Riyadh triggered a high-profile crackdown on terrorists in the kingdom.
Experts say that while ISIS-controlled territory in the Mideast is shrinking, the group's reach and frequency of attacks are still increasing.
"Inside places like Iraq, this is as group that's adapting so as they lose territory, they're moving more toward a terrorist model," Zarate explained, "We've seen that in the attacks in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. But outside Iraq and Syria, they've developed an infrastructure - an ability to launch and deploy operatives. This is after years of having thousands of foreign fighters flow in and out of the area and certainly an ability to inspire people in Europe, in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East to attack in place."
Among the three sites of Monday's attacks in Saudi Arabia was a suicide bombing outside one of Islam's holiest sites, a mosque where millions of Muslims from around the world gather every year as part of their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The holy month of Ramadan is also a time of "plundering" for violent extremists, Zarate said. Both ISIS and Al Qaeda have called for increased attacks during Ramadan.
Over the weekend, a suicide bombing at a busy shopping street in Baghdad marked one of the worst attacks in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. While the U.S. has been working to empower local forces to diminish ISIS, Zarate suggested combating the terror group is much more complex.
"The problem is they use those safe havens in places like Raqqa and Mosul to launch operatives and to strategize. That has to go away if we are going to see an end to these kinds of coordinated operations abroad," Zarate said.