Islamic State’s new spokesman has promised more attacks on Europe, telling supporters to target “markets, roads and clubs” in his inaugural audio message.
Abi al-Hassan al-Muhajer, whose role as the group’s mouthpiece was disclosed for the first time on Monday, urged Islamic State of Iraq the Levant (Isil) followers to “redouble your efforts and step up your operations.”
“We will attack them in their own countries, he said. “Your operations make a difference, change the situation … burn the ground under their feet.”
Muhajer’s predecessor, Mohammed al-Adnani, was killed in a US air strike in August. Adnani had been second-in-command to the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and is the most senior Isil figure to be killed.
Adnani’s call for lone wolf attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in June rallied supporters around the world.
Suspects in the Orlando nightclub shooting, the truck attack in the French city of Nice and a massive suicide bombing in Baghdad all claimed they were answering Adnani’s plea.
Muhajer described Islamic State’s military losses this year as setbacks and said an array of forces in Iraq and Syria had failed to defeat the jihadists.
Isil is on the defensive in its self-styled caliphate in both countries, where they have lost huge swathes of territory in recent months. US-led coalition air strikes have also taken out much of its leadership.
In the audio message, published by Isil’s official al-Furqan media channel, Muhajer called for patience from the group’s fighters and urged them to hold fast and “not to flee” the battlefield, promising victory.
In recent months, Isil has been encouraging supporters to carry out attacks at home rather than travelling to the caliphate, acknowledging its declining fortunes on the battlefield.
telegraph.co.uk
