London : A group of French-speaking bearded fighters of the dreaded Islamic State militant group has asked Muslims in the country to “operate within France” and bring terror to the streets of the European nation.
In a video, released by one of ISIS’ main media outlets Al Hayat, four unmasked fighters were seen purport to be from France, around a fire in a wooded area, burning what appear to be the French passports, the Guardian reported, according to PTI.
“We disbelieve in you and your passports, and if you come here we will fight you,” one of the fighters said in fluent French.
The video shows a group of ISIS militants throwing their passports into the fire. Only four of them don’t have their faces covered with a scarf.
Sitting with a rifle at his shoulder among a crowd of armed militants wearing balaclavas, a man identified as Abu Osama al-Faranci goes on to castigate French Muslims for not emigrating to the Islamic state, the paper said.
Holding a serrated short sword, a second fighter identified as Abu Maryam al-Faranci said the mujahideen will not hesitate to chop the heads of the “enemies of Islam”.
Abu Salman al-Faranci, another fighter, said that those who cannot join ISIS abroad should “operate within France.” “Terrorize them and do not allow them to sleep due to fear and horror,” he said.
“Do whatever you can to humiliate them,” he added. Around 1,000 French nationals are believed to have taken part in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, with 375 currently there, the French government has said.
IS leader killed in Iraq airstrike
A leading member of the Islamic State and two others were killed overnight in airstrikes launched by the international coalition near Mosul, an Iraqi military source told Efe news agency. Killed in the attack was Radwan Taleb Hussein al-Hamduni, appointed as the IS “wali” or governor of the area, the commander of the Liberation Force of the northern province of Nineveh, Gen. Khaled al-Hamdani, told Efe.
