ISIS-supporting media groups continued a recent rash of online threats against concert venues with a new depiction of a jihadist clad in a hooded sweatshirt wielding a cleaver.
In the last week of September, Al-Abd Al-Faqir Media released a poster depicting a jihadist blending into a crowd wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. As concert-goers face the stage, the jihadist grips a grenade in his right hand.
“We have prepared for you what never crossed your mind, for our goal is to horrify you and terrorize you and harm you,” the text read.
The first week of October, in a move possibly meant to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas massacre — a mass shooting that ISIS first claimed and now encourages followers to emulate — a poster from Remah Media Production that circulated online showed a jihadist wearing a suit jacket and standing with a large knife behind his back while behind concert-goers.
“Wait for our surprises,” warned the text, signed “Islamic State.” The image used in the poster didn’t single out a specific venue, but appears to have been stock plucked from royalty-free photo site Pixabay, which jihadists have previously used in composing propaganda materials.
The new threat this week comes from yet another ISIS-supporting media group, global outfits that have driven online recruitment efforts and propaganda alongside ISIS’ official media channels.
On the concert image with the cleaver-wielding attacker, Muharir al-Ansar calls on Muslims in “Europe, America, Russia, Australia and elsewhere” to wage attacks. “Your brothers in your lands have absolved themselves of blame, so leap onto their tracks and take an example from their actions, and know that Jannah [paradise] is beneath the shadows of swords,” the message continues.
The group adds to “our imprisoned brothers everywhere” that “we have not forgotten you for so much as a day.” The message is titled “Await for us in the Crusader nations.”
A poster also released this week from the group declared “Terrorize the Crusader nations” over a blood-spattered background. A light-skinned male hand holds a butcher knife, as a handgun is shown below.
Days before that, Muharir al-Ansar released a poster with shadowy imagery of the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, along with images of a soldier and an explosive device. “Soon in your homelands,” the message said.
A mid-month release from the group showed a commercial drone grasping a sizable object flying next to the Eiffel Tower, which was framed in crosshairs. A jihadist was depicted walking away.
“Await for our surprises,” said the message on the poster.
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