German Intelligence revealed Saturday the two refugees who conducted separate attacks last month in Germany were in contact with an Islamic State handler with a Saudi Arabian number.

Both refugees’ handlers instructed them how to kill as many civilians as possible with weapons at their disposal. The revelation of the institutional connection to both attacks, by the same handler no less, indicates the lone wolf terrorist Western governments have been pushing is clearly false.

A former German ISIS fighter who returned to the west after becoming disillusioned with the group revealed ISIS has set up an elite network of hundreds of would-be terrorists across Europe. The network includes “clean men” who are returned to the west and instructed to lie low. These fighters are thought to be couriers of weapons, propaganda and information to those who demonstrate a willingness to carry out attacks.

The refugees’ contact with a virtual ISIS handler shows the complex and sophisticated infrastructure the group has created to facilitate terror attacks across the globe. The former German ISIS fighter stressed the terrorist organization has been developing its network since it began consolidating control in Iraq and Syria, and “they want to have loads of attacks at the same time in England and Germany and France.”

ISIS identifies recruits with western citizenship upon their arrival and divert them to special training camps. One of the Paris attackers only spent a week in Iraq and Syria, as ISIS was anxious to get him back to the west as soon as possible so as not to tip off any European intelligence agencies.

ISIS’ elite external operations unit thus serves as both a conduit for terror attacks, as well as a support network for potential terrorists in the west. This dual-purposed network indicates victories against ISIS on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria will do little to diminish the threat to the west for years to come.

The Obama administration and anti-ISIS coalition has continually defined success against ISIS in terms of territory seized in Iraq and Syria. The administration and its allies say once the caliphate in Iraq and Syria is removed, the group will be unable to inspire so-called “lone wolf” terrorists, thereby diminishing the overall threat.

One ISIS operative inside Syria recently told The Washington Post the terrorist group has “people reaching out and telling us they want to come to the caliphate,” but elaborated that “we tell them to stay in their countries and rather wait to do something there.”

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