ISIS declare new 'global offensive' while 'the crusaders are fighting each other' and distracted by war in Ukraine
- Islamic State's new spokesman Abu-Omar al-Muhajir delivered the speech
- He said that the war in Ukraine presents an opportunity for ISIS to launch attacks
- Al-Muhajir called on jihadists to carry out attacks in Europe and in Israel
- He also called on ISIS members to avenge the death of former leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi - who was killed in a US raid in February
- ISIS was largely defeated in the Middle East in 2018, and has been a weakened force ever since, carrying out fewer terrorist attacks in recent years
![Former ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi was killed in February in a US raid. In a recent speech, ISIS called on its jihadists to avenge his death](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/19/12/56781951-10731169-Former_ISIS_leader_Abu_Ibrahim_al_Hashimi_al_Qurayshi_was_killed-a-18_1650366681126.jpg)
Former ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi was killed in February in a US raid. In a recent speech, ISIS called on its jihadists to avenge his death
ISIS has declared a new 'global offensive' that aims to take advantage of the 'opportunity' of the west being distracted by the on-going war in Ukraine.
The terrorist group also told its supporters to avenge the death of its leader, who was killed earlier this year in a raid by US special forces in Syria, and to launch attacks against Europe and Israel while 'the crusaders are fighting each other'.
Islamic State's new spokesman Abu-Omar al-Muhajir said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has 'preoccupied' non-Muslim nations, and presents a chance to strike.
In a speech released online, delivered during the holy month of Ramadan, al-Muhajir urged ISIS jihadis to take revenge for the killing of Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi - also known as Hajji Abdullah - in February.
Al-Qurayshi, who led ISIS from 2019, himself replaced ISIS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in an earlier US raid in October that year.
'We announce, relying on God, a blessed campaign to take revenge,' the spokesman said in an audio message heard by The Times. 'Fight them all and Allah will answer and punish them at your hands.'
He told his followers the 'opportunity is ripe' for them to strike, and called on them to arm themselves and to carry out attacks against western countries.
The message came amid rising tensions in Israel, where recent terrorist attacks have killed 14 people. In response, Israel has launched near-daily arrest raids and other military operations in the occupied West Bank - also resulting in deaths.
Two of the recent attackers came from in and around Jenin, which has long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israeli rule.
The latest tensions come during the rare confluence of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover.
Christians are also celebrating their holy week leading up to Easter. Tens of thousands of visitors have flocked to Jerusalem's Old City - home to major holy sites for all three faiths - for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
In his message, al-Muhajir said that Jerusalem could only be taken through an Islamic State 'caliphate', The Times reported. A Caliphate - or a political-religious state that unites the Muslim world - has long been an ambition of ISIS.
![Islamic State's new spokesman Abu-Omar al-Muhajir said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has 'preoccupied' non-Muslim nations, and presents a chance to strike. Pictured: Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/19/11/56781955-10731169-image-a-3_1650363896075.jpg)
Islamic State's new spokesman Abu-Omar al-Muhajir said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has 'preoccupied' non-Muslim nations, and presents a chance to strike. Pictured: Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022
ISIS' self-declared caliphate, established from 2014, once stretched across vast parts of Syria and Iraq and administered millions of inhabitants.
A long and deadly military fightback led by Kurdish-Syrian and Iraqi forces with backing from the United States and other powers eventually defeated the jihadist proto-state in March 2019.
The remnants of ISIS in Syria mostly went to their desert hideouts from which they continue to harass Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops.
A UN report last year estimated that around 10,000 IS fighters remained active across Iraq and Syria.
Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi's death in February came two weeks after ISIS launched an attack on a northeast Syria prison housing fellow jihadists. The jail break attempt from the sprawling Ghwayran complex in the northeastern city of Hasakeh triggered a week of clashes inside and around the facility, leaving hundreds dead.
But hundreds of IS prisoners, including senior leaders, are thought to have escaped, with some crossing to neighbouring Turkey or Turkish-held territory in Syria's north, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
![ISIS also called on its fighters to carry out attacks on Israel, which has seen a flare-up of violence and terrorist attacks in recent weeks. Pictured: Israeli soldiers work near the scene of a fatal shooting attack near a bar in Tel Aviv, Israel April 7, 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/19/11/56781953-10731169-image-a-4_1650363905722.jpg)
ISIS also called on its fighters to carry out attacks on Israel, which has seen a flare-up of violence and terrorist attacks in recent weeks. Pictured: Israeli soldiers work near the scene of a fatal shooting attack near a bar in Tel Aviv, Israel April 7, 2022
ISIS has since announced its new leader - known as Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Little is known about him, but he is said to have been chosen by his predecessor before he was killed in the US special forces raid.
After a period of deadly activity which saw terrorist attacks carried out in several major European cities, ISIS has been less formidable in recent years - particularly since the group was largely defeated in Syria.
Some attacks - such as the stabbing of British MP David Amess last October - have been carried out, but large-scale atrocities have been rarer.
Speaking to the times, Olivier Guitta, managing director of GlobalStrat, an international security risk consultancy, said ISIS feels like it needs to restart its attacks in order to regain its credibility.
'The question is whether Isis has the logistical capacity to carry out a spectacular attack in Europe like in 2015 in Paris or 2016 in Brussels,' he told the newspaper.
Now, experts believe ISIS will look to exploit a period of instability in the West - caused by the implosion of relations between Europe and Russia (following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine) and growing violence in Israel - to carry out attacks.
![Pictured: People check a destroyed house after an operation by the U.S. military in the Syrian village of Atmeh, in Idlib province, Syria, February. 3, 2022. U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a successful, large-scale counterterrorism raid, killing ISIS' leader](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/19/11/56781117-10731169-image-m-6_1650363913067.jpg)
Pictured: People check a destroyed house after an operation by the U.S. military in the Syrian village of Atmeh, in Idlib province, Syria, February. 3, 2022. U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a successful, large-scale counterterrorism raid, killing ISIS' leader
Monday saw Palestinian militants fire a rocket into southern Israel for the first time in months, in another escalation after clashes at a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem, a series of deadly attacks inside Israel and military raids across West Bank.
Israel said it intercepted the rocket, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Israel holds Gaza's militant Hamas rulers responsible for all such projectiles and usually launches airstrikes in their wake. It was the first such rocket fire since New Year's Eve.
Early Tuesday, Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of airstrikes in southern Gaza Strip, targeting a 'weapons manufacturing site' for Hamas, the Israeli military said. There were no reports of injuries.
Hours earlier, the leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group, which boasts an arsenal of rockets, had issued a brief, cryptic warning, condemning Israeli 'violations' in Jerusalem.
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