During Ramadan

IS terrorists announce attacks worldwide

IS fighters (archive photo)

(Bild: AFP)

The Islamic State terrorist militia has once again claimed responsibility for the attack near Moscow and announced worldwide attacks on Jews and Christians. In an audio message published on Thursday, IS spokesman Abu Huthaifah al-Ansari called on the movement's "lone wolves" to "attack and target crusaders (Christians) and Jews everywhere" during the current month of Ramadan, especially in Europe and the USA as well as in Israel and Palestine. 

Al-Ansari recalled the proclamation of the so-called IS caliphate ten years ago. At that time, the militia had large areas of civil war-torn Syria and neighboring Iraq under its control.

IS cells still very active
The extremists have since lost their territory again. However, IS cells are still active in both countries. The message was published via the IS media portal al-Furkan.

Attackers who had carried out attacks in Europe or other regions had repeatedly declared their allegiance to IS. Most recently, the terrorists who killed at least 143 people in a Moscow concert hall are said to have been supporters of the radical Islamists. 

Terrorism expert: "Quite a big danger"
Terrorism expert Peter Neumann said at the beginning of the week that there is still a "fairly high" terrorist threat to Western Europe. Since the start of the Gaza war in October, there has been a "huge mobilization of Islamists, of jihadists everywhere in Western Europe", Neumann told Deutschlandfunk radio on Monday.

France and other European countries have raised the terror alert level following the Moscow attack.

(Bild: AFP)

Now "the ISPK, i.e. this offshoot of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Central Asia", which is "very ambitiously and aggressively attempting attacks in non-Muslim countries, including in Western Europe", has been added to the list. The Islamic State Province of Khorasan (ISPK) group has its origins in Afghanistan.

Khorasan stands for a historical region in Central Asia that included parts of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Iran. These are some of the dangers that come together here, "where I say the biggest current terrorist threat in Europe is now again from the Islamist, jihadist side," said Neumann.