UN Secretary: ISIS declares 34 affiliates worldwide

The Islamic State is now the richest terrorist organization in the world, said UN Secretary Ban ki-moon in a lecture in London Friday. The group, which in June 2014 first localized itself in Iraq and Syria, now has 34 “official provinces” in 21 countries with 50 affiliates. This number is likely to grow in 2016, he warned.

Ban said U.N member states should prepare for an increase in attacks by ISIS affiliates from countries such as the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Libya and Nigeria, posing an “unprecedented threat” by traveling to their targeted destinations. "The recent expansion of the ISIL sphere of influence across west and North Africa, the Middle East and south and Southeast Asia demonstrates the speed and scale at which the gravity of the threat has evolved in just 18 months.”