Today, the Islamic State's al-Furqan media released a new speech from Islamic State spokesman Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari. The speech, entitled "And kill them wherever you find them" (taken from Qur'an 2:191), focused primarily on the Israel-Gaza war but was a very predictable reiteration of the group's talking points: (i) that the battle in Palestine is a religious war against Jews, and not one about liberation to establish a national homeland, (ii) denunciation of the various 'nationalist' Palestinian factions and those like Hamas aligned with the broader Iranian-led 'resistance' axis, which is utilised by Iran as a Shi'i expansionist project that is no less dangerous if not more so to Islam and Muslims than the state of Israel, (iii) the various Sunni Arab governments are 'apostate' entities that are part of the Jewish-'Crusader' alliance against Islam, (iv) the correct form of jihad is one the Islamic State pursues to establish the rule of God's law, and fighting all the disbelievers.
Within this context, the Islamic State has now launched a new expedition entitled "Kill them wherever you find them," beginning with claiming responsibility for the two bombings that took place on in the hometown of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force commander Qasim Sulaymani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the Americans. As soon as the sheer scale of the killing of people in such an indiscriminate terrorist attack, it became evident to me that the bombings were likely an Islamic State operation (though it is always wise to wait and see if the group claims a particular attack). Blaming Israel for the incident, as John Hopkins professor Vali Nasr did, was frankly ludicrous. It is simply not Israel's modus operandi to engage in such terroristic acts inside Iran: rather, Israel pursues carefully targeted killings for specific goals like undermining Iran's nuclear program. The suggestions that the attacks might have been an inside Iranian job also struck me as ridiculous.
[Click here to continue reading]:
https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/the-islamic-state-claims-suicide