Islamic State’s Baghdadi Threatens Israel In New Audio Message
Islamic State (Daesh) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has threatened an attack on Israel, in a purported audio recording released on Saturday.
“We haven’t forgotten about Palestine for a second. Soon, with God’s permission, you’ll hear about shaking footsteps of the mujahideen [holy warriors],” al-Baghdadi said in a rare threat against Israel.
He warned in the recording that Israelis must expect strikes by hardline jihadists.
“Palestine will be your graveyard, Jews,” he said in the audio, which was posted on a website linked to the group.
The recording could not be independently verified.
Islamic State, which rules large territory in Syria and Iraq, has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks around the world in recent months, prompting a multinational military campaign against it.
In the purported recording, his first in seven months, al-Baghdadi vowed that nations engaged in the fight against Islamic State will pay a “dear price.”
“America, Russia and Europe have to look forward to this.”
The United States is leading air campaigns against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
In September, Russia launched an aerial campaign against Islamic State and other extremist groups in Syria.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the October crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board.
Al-Baghdadi also renewed his call for all Muslims to join his group in battling what he called “nations of infidelity launching a war on Islam.”
Last year, al-Baghdadi declared Islamic State a self-styled caliphate and proclaimed himself its ruler.
