LONDON: Daesh has appealed for followers to wage a new war against Europe and Israel in revenge for the death of the group’s leader in February, The Times reported on Monday.
The message, delivered in a video by Daesh spokesman Abu-Omar Al-Mujahir, says the West’s focus on the war in Ukraine presents an opportunity to strike.
He referred to the death of Abu Ibrahim Al-Qurayshi, who detonated an explosive in his compound as US forces approached.
Following his death, Daesh announced a new leader, Abu Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, a long-time senior figure who was chosen by Al-Qurayshi before he died.
In the message sent using the encrypted platform Telegram, Al-Mujahir 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. The opportunity is ripe for you.”
In a bid to encourage so-called lone-wolf attackers, he urged followers to “arm themselves with weapons and carry out further attacks,” adding that a return of the caliphate would lead to the liberation of Jerusalem.
Daesh has failed to launch and direct attacks in Europe for years, and as a result, has shifted strategy to encourage individuals to stage attacks, said Olivier Guitta, managing director of GlobalStrat, a security consultancy.
These attacks include the 2021 killing of British MP Sir David Amess, who was stabbed to death by 26-year-old Ali Harbi Ali, who later admitted that he had been radicalized online by Daesh propaganda.
Guitta said Daesh believes that it “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 (it) has the logistical capacity to carry out a spectacular attack in Europe like in 2015 in Paris or 2016 in Brussels.”
