A new audio message purporting to be from ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani calls on followers of the militant group to launch attacks on the US and Europe during the Islamic holy month.
By REUTERSScreenshot of ISIS video threatening attacks in London(photo credit: screenshot)
A new message purporting to come from the spokesman of Islamic State calls on followers to launch attacks on the United States and Europe during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in early June."Ramadan is coming, the month of attacks and jihad, the month of conquest so be prepared and be on alert, and make sure that everyone of you spends it (Ramadan) in the name of God on the attack. Requesting from God that it (Ramadan), God willing, be a month of calamity on the non-believers anywhere, especially by those soldiers and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America," said the message, suggesting attacks on military and civilian targets.The authenticity of the audio clip, purporting to be from Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and distributed on Saturday by Twitter accounts that usually publish Islamic State statements, could not be verified."The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us. If one of you hoped to reach the Islamic State, we wish we were in your place to punish the Crusaders day and night," Adnani said.The militant group, which seeks to establish a caliphate across the Middle East and beyond, has claimed deadly attacks over the past year on civilians in France, Belgium and the United States.But the message made no mention of the EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean on Thursday in unexplained circumstances, amid speculation by Egyptian, French and American officials that a jihadist attack was the most likely cause.A U.S.-led coalition, which also includes European and Arab countries, launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in 2014 after the militants seized vast swathes of territory in those countries.'Their planes do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, man or woman,' the message continued, in apparent reference to the strikes.