Islamic State-Linked Magazine Urges ‘Lone-Wolf’ Attacks in West to Avenge Mosul

An Islamic State (ISIS)-linked propaganda magazine, published in English, Arabic, and French by the Nashir Media Foundation, is urging jihadists in Europe and the United States to carry out deadly “lone-wolf” attacks to avenge the terrorist group’s losses in Mosul.

In the second issue of the magazine, titled Nashir – Now Fight Has Come, the writers remind Muslims across the globe of the “privilege” they have residing “among our enemies who live peacefully in their countries,” notes the Foreign Desk (FD).

“Every soldier fights on the Caliphate land [in Iraq and Syria] wishes to be in your place. We can cut the tail of the snake but it will sooner grow again. But you have its head,” adds the magazine.

“Brave Mosul is bleeding. You should stop its bleeding by carrying out exhaustion operations of the Enemy’s power and blood … cut their heads by your knives, let us hear your guns blasting their heads,” it also states, according to FD.

A U.S.-backed force of at least 30,000 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Sunni tribesmen, Shiite militiamen, many backed by Iran, Kurdish Peshmerga troops, and Christian fighters is advancing towards Mosul in a push to liberate the city from ISIS.

An estimated 5,000 ISIS jihadists are believed to be defending the city, using thousands of civilians as human shields as the U.S.-backed force inches closer to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the terrorist group’s last major stronghold in the country.

An article in the Nashir magazine titled “O thee whom Al – Adnani called thee wolves” echoes previous calls to war by former ISIS commander and chief propagandist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, stressing the importance of local jihad and urging jihadists that “if the tyrants have shut the doors of hijra [immigration to ISIS territories] in your face, then open the gate of jihad in their faces and make them regret their action.”

“Jihadists are persuaded not to wait to see the outcome of the battle for Mosul, but rather launch attacks on coalition countries by any means possible,” reports FD.

Although Adnani was killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike back in August, his propaganda message has outlived him and is still used to motivate jihadists to carry out attacks in the West.

“Several affiliations of the pro-ISIS Nashir Media Foundation such as the Nashir Political Service, have become active online in recent months, particularly on the encrypted messenger app Telegram,” notes the Foreign Desk. “New private channels appear almost daily, quickly mushrooming to hundreds if not thousands of followers before being deleted by Telegram staff.”