US Central Command ex-chief warns of imminent ISIS threat, says 'believe them' on plans to attack

Former head of US Central Command, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, on Sunday (Mar 31) issued a stark warning about the Islamic State's (ISIS) intentions to attack the United States and its allies.

In an interview with ABC News, the retired general highlighted ISIS's recent attacks in Moscow and Iran and emphasised the growing threat posed by the terror group and its affiliates.

'Believe them'

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McKenzie remarked that the global community should believe the terrorist organisation's threats.

"We should believe them when they say that. They're going to try to do it," he said, referring to ISIS's desire to launch attacks against the US and its allies.

He noted that the threat was "growing" after America's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"It began to grow as soon as we left Afghanistan. It took pressure off ISIS-K."

Calling attacks against the US "inevitable," McKenzie said, "I think we should expect further attempts of this nature against the United States as well as our partners and other nations abroad."

US exit from Afghanistan: Good or Bad?

Arguing that maintaining a small presence could have prevented the resurgence of extremist groups in the region, McKenzie criticised the complete withdrawal of US troops and called it a boon for the Islamic State and similar militants.

He said, "In Afghanistan, we have almost no ability to see into that country and almost no ability to strike into that country."

This is in contrast to President Joe Biden's assurances that the US retains "over-the-horizon capability" to "act quickly and decisively" from afar.

McKenzie emphasised the importance of maintaining pressure on extremist groups in their homelands to prevent them from carrying out large-scale attacks, but said: "Unfortunately, we no longer place that pressure on them, so they're free to gain strength, they're free to plan, they're free to coordinate."

He suggested that if the US and its allies had kept forces in Afghanistan, "I think we might actually be safer than we are."

Recent Moscow attack

Addressing the recent terror attack in Moscow, the retired General said Russians could have "averted this attack had they actually listened to the material that was presented to them" by the US.

Describing self-radicalisation as potentially "the most dangerous methodthat ISIS can use to generate attacks," he said, self-radicalised "attacks are generally not going to be well coordinated, they're not going to be well planned and they're not going to be well supported. But they could be very lethal because they'll be so hard to detect."

He also warned that groups like ISIS-K are using influence campaigns, online methods and in-person training to recruit.

(With inputs from agencies)