Just days after it claimed responsibility of the massacre in Paris in well-coordinated terrorist attacks, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has released yet another propaganda video titled “the joy of Muslims over Paris operations” where it the group has praised attacks in Paris and further threatened other countries in the international coalition bombing its militants in Syria and Iraq.
The video was made by an Iraqi sub-group called Wilayat Kirkuk and takes aid of television footage where French Prime Minister Francois Hollande is speaking to the public and police are conducting operations in the wake of the shooting and suicide bombings that killed 129 people in the French capital.
The video shows victims of the attacks in body bags being loaded into ambulances with clearly distraught survivors huddled outside restaurants while jihadists praise the heinous crimes.
A few frames later, militants speak to the camera, threatening to make similar moves on other countries while promising that those who follow France’s path will “suffer the same fate”.
ISIS to target Washington?
After making a general warning and reminding people about Friday’s attacks, the jihadists then swear to strike Washington.
“We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day God willing, like France’s and by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington,” one man named Al-Ghareeb the Algerian, clad in fatigues and a turban in the video said.
“We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day, God willing, like France’s and by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington,” the man said.
However, Reuters reports that the authenticity of the video cannot be verified immediately but it is clear that the latest video is going to be a serious cause for concern with USA likely to further tighten its security and increase the intensity of its operations against the infamous group.
Meanwhile, an international arrest warrant has been issued for a 26-year-old French national who is suspected of being directly involved in Friday’s attacks in Paris. French and Belgian investigation teams claim that up to 20 plotters and perpetrators could have been behind the killing spree which is the deadliest in France since the end of World War 2.
Man hunt for ISIS conspirator
French and Belgian authorities have released a photo and issued an international arrest warrant for Abdeslam Salah, stating that he should be considered armed and dangerous and have asked the public not to directly intervene if they see him.
Salah lives in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek and has been linked to a rental car which was discovered the Bataclan concert hall where the horrific hostage siege claimed the lives of 89 people.
French authorities have already identified five of the seven terrorists killed and have also managed to detain several suspects. The greatest concern here is that the attacks were led by French nationals while those in Belgium coordinated and provided logistic support.
“The despicable attacks which hit us on Friday were prepared abroad, and a team of participants was mobilized on Belgian territory, which could have benefited, the investigation indicates, from help in France,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Sunday.
“In the forthcoming days we will bring together our police services and information services to again compare the different elements, and different information we have and to bring together all the information that we both have,” he added.
It should be noted however that regardless of how many threatening propaganda videos are made, it is clear that neither the US or its partners will soften their stance towards ISIS and its self-proclaimed Caliphate in the region.
The video emerges following the reservations of CIA Director, Brennan. While speaking at the annual Global Security Forum hosted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, he hoped that the attacks in Paris would serve as a wake-up call for security services all over the world and also warned that ISIS will attempt such atrocities with more intensity.
The French government has already labeled the attacks as an act of war and reiterated its commitment to eradicating this particular extremist element that has gained a stranglehold of Iraq and Syria.
On Sunday, French fighter jets, in coordination with US forces, launched further raids in Syria and targeted the Islamic State’s stronghold in the city of Raqqa.
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