Arab nations should also fear the reach of Islamic state

IF there is a lesson from the attacks on Paris last Friday, it is that Islamic State has become a truly global threat, more brutal than even al Qaeda, and with the arms, training and money to carry out its plans.

While the comments of Pope Francis, who has described the murders as part of a “piecemeal Third World War”, are hard to justify, IS has acquired reach way beyond the borders of Syria, where it originated.

It has done so at an extraordinary pace and is likely to expand further, as a result of the growing refugee crisis on Europe’s southern borders.