Death of Baghdadi does not mean end of fight against terrorism

There is no doubt the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a significant contribution to the international efforts to fight terrorism. Or that the US president's announcement of the US operation which led to his death will boost his own reelection chances.

Since July 2014, when the IS terrorist group seized large tracts of land in Syria and Iraq following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in 2011, the world has seen the opening of a Pandora's box of terrorism and extremism across five continents. The terrorist group not only committed atrocities in the territory it seized but also claimed responsibility for instigating terrorist attacks in dozens of cities including Paris, Nice, Orlando, Manchester, London, Berlin, and most recently in Colombo.

In its heyday, the IS group ruled over millions of people in areas extending from northern Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad. Its declaration of a caliphate and ideology propagating violent religious extremism lured thousands of people from around the world to join its jihadist movement, which has posed the biggest security threat to the world in recent years.