"With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under governed areas," Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, was quoted as saying by CNN.
Stewart added that the number of foreign fighters coming in and out of Syria and Iraq was “troubling.”
Last week, the Waliyat Sinai militant group in Egypt pledged allegiance to IS and claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed over 25 people. In Libya, a hotel attack in late January was perpetrated by militants also claiming to be an affiliate of the IS.
The IS radical group has also gained ground in parts of northern and southern Afghanistan, according to local media.
The IS began fighting the Syrian government in 2012 later expanding operation to Iraq and currently controls large swathes of land in both countries.
