JOHANNESBURG — The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a dayslong ambush of a port town in northern Mozambique last week that forced tens of thousands of people to flee the area and left dozens dead, including some foreigners.
An affiliate of the militant group has seized large swaths of territory, including another important port town, but the assault last week demonstrated a new level of boldness.
The attack on the town of Palma, Mozambique, was an alarming escalation of the war in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado, where insurgents with loose ties to the Islamic State have killed at least 2,000 people in a campaign of violence over the past three years.
In recent months, the local insurgency has grown in strength and seized large swaths of territory, including the region’s other main port town. Last week’s attack demonstrated a new level of boldness from the insurgents and was the closest the group has come to a multibillion-dollar gas project that is operated by international energy companies.
Few analysts believe that the Islamic State in the Middle East maintains a close relationship with the insurgency, which was born out of frustration over local grievances and shares few of the Islamic State’s ideological aims. But claiming responsibility for the deadly attack underscores the organization’s ability to leverage loose ties with militant groups around the world to create the impression of a truly global struggle.
The Islamic State claimed on Monday that more than 55 people — including Mozambican army troops, Christians and foreigners — were killed in the ambush carried out by its local affiliate, the Islamic State Central Africa Province, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.