ISIS has told jihadis to strike the West now during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
That’s because they believe the war acts as a distraction for Western countries, with “the crusaders fighting each other”.
ISIS spokesperson Abu-Omar al-Muhajir made the comments in a speech which has been leaked online, saying that the Russian invasion is an “opportunity”.
Mr al-Muhajir urged followers to avenge the killing of Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi, also known as Hajji Abdullah, during a US raid in Syria back in February.
He said: “We announce, relying on God, a blessed campaign to take revenge.
“Fight them all and Allah will answer and punish them at your hands.”
9/11, carried out by al-Qaeda is perhaps the most infamous extremist attack on the West in recent history
Wiki Commons
He also called on followers to “arm themselves with weapons and carry out further attacks”.
“The opportunity is ripe for you," he added.
Managing director of international security risk consultancy GlobalStrat, Olivier Guitta said: “ISIS (believes they) needs to carry out attacks in Europe and in the US in order to regain credibility and put itself back in the news.
“The question is whether ISIS has the logistical capacity to carry out a spectacular attack in Europe like in 2015 in Paris or 2016 in Brussels.’’
While Aron Lund, a researcher at the Swedish Defence Research Agency said it sounded like “the ravings of a leadership that doesn’t have much contact with its European adherents”.
