ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday vowed to seek “revenge” over the killing of its former leader and called on supporters to make the most of the war in Ukraine to resume attacks in Europe.
In an audio message believed to be by the group and circulated on Telegram channels affiliated to them, a new military campaign was announced to avenge the deaths of former leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quryishi and the group’s former spokesperson.
"We announce, relying on God, a blessed campaign to take revenge,” AFP cited the group’s new spokesman, Abu Omar al-Muhajir as saying after offering supporters Ramadan greetings.
Muhajir then proceeded to talk about the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict, wishing for losses to be inflicted on both sides. He called on supporters to take advantage of “the opportunity available” of “crusaders fighting each other” and to stage attacks in Europe.
The audio message was the first communication by Muhajir since March 10 when he confirmed the death of al-Qurayshi, and named Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as the new leader, about whom little information is known. Muhajir himself is also a figure followers of the group are not familiar with.
Former ISIS leader Qurayshi blew himself up during an overnight US special operations raid in the early hours of February 3 in Idlib, northwest Syria.
ISIS typically sends messages to followers during Ramadan to garner support.
The message came shortly after an Iraqi soldier was injured in a suspected ISIS attack in Salahaddin province.
Last week, Iraqi forces arrested an ISIS leader and several suspected members of the group. On Wednesday, Kurdish security forces announced the arrest of an ISIS leader believed to have executed two Peshmerga fighters.
Recent attacks have not been limited to Iraq and Syria. ISIS claimed responsibility for a shooting attack in Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, killing two people and injuring six. The incident marked the group’s first claim of responsibility for an attack in Israel since 2017.
The group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. The terror group’s remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. In Syria, the terror group continues to launch deadly attacks from the Syrian desert, which extends from Damascus to the Iraqi border.
