New York/Madrid: The extradition of Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a 20-year-old Pakistani national accused of plotting a chilling ISIS-inspired mass shooting at a Brooklyn Jewish centre, has thrown a stark spotlight on the global fight against terrorism. Khan’s foiled scheme, aimed at unleashing carnage on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has galvanised world leaders, who gathered in Madrid this week to forge a relentless strategy to dismantle ISIS’s deadly networks.
Khan arrived in Canada on a student visa in June 2023, but by November, he was spewing ISIS propaganda on social media and encrypted apps from his Mississauga, Ontario, flat. FBI informants caught wind of his posts, including a quote from an extremist preacher and a photo of a disassembled weapon, sparking a months-long undercover sting. Khan, communicating with two FBI agents posing as ISIS supporters, laid bare his plan to form an “offline cell” with a U.S.-based associate, targeting New York’s Jewish community for its dense population. He pinpointed a Brooklyn Chabad centre, sending photos and urging the purchase of AR-style rifles, hunting knives, and tactical gear for a “long encounter” with police, boasting the attack could eclipse 9/11 in impact. His bid to slip across the U.S.-Canada border near Ormstown, Quebec, with a human smuggler was foiled just 12 miles from the line, leading to his arrest by the RCMP on September 4, 2024. Extradited to the U.S. on June 10, Khan pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court on June 12, with his lawyer claiming entrapment by U.S. authorities. If convicted on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and transnational terrorism, he faces life in prison. Khan’s plot, fueled by online radicalisation and cross-border ambitions, mirrors the very threats world leaders tackled head-on at the Madrid summit.
On June 10, 2025, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh convened in Madrid, hosted by Spain, to counter the kind of global terror Khan sought to unleash. Top diplomats from the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh gathered in Madrid for a high-stakes summit aimed at dismantling the terrorist group’s global operations.
Hosted by Spain, the meeting signalled a renewed push to choke off ISIS’s ability to move fighters, secure funds, and recruit online, as the group continues to pose a persistent threat to global security. Spanish Deputy Minister Diego Martínez Belío opened the summit, urging a unified global effort to crush ISIS. Co-chaired by Spain’s Alberto Ucelay and U.S. counterterrorism chief Gregory D. LoGerfo, discussions zeroed in on Syria’s volatile landscape, where detained ISIS fighters and overcrowded displacement camps in the northeast remain ticking time bombs. With Assad’s regime toppled, the Coalition pledged to bolster border security, enhance intelligence sharing, and repatriate displaced Syrians, Iraqis, and others to prevent ISIS from exploiting the power vacuum.
To counter ISIS’s evolving tactics, the summit emphasised innovative approaches to disrupt online radicalisation. Delegates endorsed best practices to reduce terrorist influence in diaspora communities, including community-led deradicalisation programs and public awareness campaigns. Leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI-driven analytics, was flagged as a game-changer for identifying and neutralising extremist content before it spreads.
The summit buzzed with new initiatives. A Terrorist Travel Working Group, launched by INTERPOL on May 27-28, 2025, was hailed for aligning global law enforcement with counterterrorism strategies. Uzbekistan’s entry as the Coalition’s newest member drew applause, particularly for its efforts to counter the rising ISIS-Khorasan threat in Central Asia. African nations, led by Nigeria, pressed for stronger regional action to disrupt ISIS affiliates’ cash flows and cross-border movements in sub-Saharan Africa, where porous borders fuel instability.
Tech took centre stage as diplomats tackled ISIS’s sophisticated use of online platforms. The group explored cutting-edge tools to counter propaganda and curb recruitment, particularly in vulnerable diaspora communities. A major restructuring of the Coalition was approved, with new task forces to tackle terrorist travel, financial networks, recruitment, and regional challenges in Syria, Iraq, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
ISIS’s digital grip, evident in Khan’s encrypted chats, loomed large. The Coalition dug deeper into ISIS’s digital playbook, zeroing in on its use of encrypted apps and social media to radicalise and coordinate attacks. Delegates pushed for stronger partnerships with tech giants to disrupt these virtual hideouts, advocating for real-time monitoring and swift removal of extremist content. The integration of the United Kingdom and Türkiye-led ISIS-Khorasan Province Diplomatic Grouping into the Coalition’s framework was a strategic coup, sharpening the focus on neutralising the group’s Afghan offshoot before it spreads to Europe, the U.S., or beyond, as echoed in Khan’s plot.
African representatives brought urgency to the table, spotlighting how ISIS affiliates exploit weak governance and open borders in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria’s call for tailored regional strategies gained traction, with plans to strengthen local law enforcement and financial oversight to starve terrorist networks. The Coalition’s revamped structure aims to deliver targeted support, ensuring regions like Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the tools to fend off ISIS’s advances. Emerging tech, like AI analytics, was hailed as a game-changer for spotting and neutralising extremist content swiftly.
Khan’s foiled plot, credited to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Police Department, and Canadian authorities by FBI Director Kash Patel, underscores the cross-border teamwork championed in Madrid. The Madrid summit underscores a sobering reality: ISIS remains a shape-shifting threat, but the Coalition’s united front is stronger than ever. With a restructured framework and global resolve, the alliance is poised to keep ISIS on the ropes, signalling to the world that the fight against terrorism is far from over.
As Khan awaits trial, the Coalition’s revamped framework signals an unwavering global resolve to outsmart ISIS’s evolving tactics, ensuring no corner of the world remains a haven for terror.
– global bihari bureau
