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The ISIS terror caliphate has crumbled and the surviving leadership is on the run. But like Al Qaeda at one time, ISIS seeks to show it is still relevant by claiming responsibility for terror strikes in places—e.g., Sri Lanka—that are far from the areas where it has had presence.
Some South Asian jihadist groups have transnational links but within South Asia. ISIS claimed responsibility for Dhaka café attack but Bangladesh pinned blame on Pakistan's ISI. Colombo Shangri-La Hotel suicide bomber Zahran Hashim was linked to Pakistan's LeT (a front for ISI).
Islamist terror is closely connected with the spread of Wahhabism. Wahhabi fanaticism is terrorism’s ideological mother, whose offspring include ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, LeT, Boko Haram, etc. So, when you hear that ISIS ideology is still strong, it is actually Wahhabi fanaticism.
It is one thing for ISIS to claim responsibility for the Sri Lanka bombings (as it did) and another thing to contend that ISIS (Wahhabi) ideology helped inspire the attacks. A number of Sri Lankans waged jihad in Syria and returned home. Their zeal for jihad will remain a problem
