Last year, in September, ISIS called for random attacks against individuals in the U.S. The terrorist group’s spokesman specifically called for lone-wolf attacks and provided instructions on how to attack the Westerners: “Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may be. Turn their worldly life into fear and fire. Remove their families from their homes and thereafter blow up their homes.”
The spokesman went on to urge members to “hinder those who want to harm your brothers. The best thing you can do is to strive to your best and kill any disbeliever, whether he be French, American or from any of their allies.”
Supporters were asked to take the fight directly to the streets of the US and Europe by murdering civilians at random as was done in the horrific murder of Lee Rigby, the British Army soldier who was run down and hacked to death in a London street by two jihadists.
Al Qaeda has called for similar attacks in the past, but due to ISIS’ large and growing global support base, which believes ISIS leaders are the rightful sovereign leaders of all Muslims worldwide, this ISIS warning carries more weight.
Just last week, the pro-ISIS media group, Rabitat al-Ansar, posted the names, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses of Americans, Canadians, and others on Just Paste It. The group’s name, ‘Rabitat Al-Ansar’ means ‘Union of Supporters’. The communication promised the release of additional data sets, for a total of 2000 individuals’ personal data, but the content has since been removed and the two Twitter accounts associated with it suspended. The FBI is aware of the list but has not at this time issued a statement.
Rabitat al-Ansar has also begun a Twitter campaign, hashtag #WeWillBurnUSAgain, in which serious threats are being lobbed against Americans, ominously reminding people of the 9/11 attacks and past “lone wolf” attacks in the West. Similar attacks are promised in the future, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online activity of extremist organizations.
The content posted under the #WeWillBurnUSAgain hashtag includes text messages, images, videos and past ISIS press releases in an offensive that began last Wednesday. “We swear that lone wolves are present in all countries of the world and lurking for you. What happened in France is not far from you and will be repeated, but this time in the streets of American cities,” one message read.
SITE Director Rita Katz issued a statement, saying that “in a time of lone wolf attacks, and Americans and other Westerners pledging to the Islamic State, this kind of campaign should not be taken lightly.” She added, “In recent weeks, about 10 Americans were indicted for attempts to act on behalf of the Islamic State, and there are many with every passing day that the group operates on Twitter.”
International Business Times reports that some of the messages also include multiple reconstructed images, showing the destruction of the White House, the Statue of Liberty and other major American sites. While some of the threatening tweets are directed specifically at US soldiers, others use the hashtag to post earlier ISIS press releases, the beheading video of slain American citizen James Foley and other incidents.
Rabitat al-Ansar ran a similar Twitter campaign last summer, using hashtag #CalamityWillBefallUS. Whereas the lastest hashtag campaign is based on revenge, the previous campaign was launched as a warning against military action against ISIS.
A list of ISIS accounts and others calling for violence against America by using hashtag #WeWillBurnUSAgain has been posted on Pastebin by Anonymous #OpISIS team member @Adelita01, with the request that Twitter users block and report these accounts.
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