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THREAD: Islamic State (IS) group casually announces new India branch 
2/ In a recent statement on clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Islamic State (IS) made the first reference to their “India Province” (Wilayah of Hind)
3/ There was little fanfare in the announcement of the new branch, which was made almost in passing. trib.al/yUBlrdi
4/ Such a low-key announcement is in line with IS media behaviour regarding new branches in the aftermath of its territorial losses in late 2017
5/ In April IS also casually revealed the name of a new branch in Central Africa on the back of single attack in DR Congo
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6/ More recently, the group gave a glimpse of a file that read "Turkey Province" in a leadership video.
7/ Since March 2018, IS attacks in Kashmir have been attributed to the “Khorasan Province”, which was set up in 2015 to cover "Afghanistan, Pakistan and nearby lands"
8/ The latest branch addition is likely to be part of IS's strategy to strengthen its global affiliations - or at least give the impression of doing so
9/ IS may also be seeking to capitalise on the deadly Sri Lanka attacks of 21 April in order to boost the perceived threat it poses in South Asia trib.al/qRHcXqD
