ISIS supporters have called for terror attacks over the festive period in a Christmas card-style propaganda image offering ‘just terror and a terror-filled New Year’.
The post, which appeared on an pro-ISIS Telegram channel yesterday, shows the text pasted between a Father Christmas hat and beard.
On the left-hand side is a hunting knife in front of a black background.
The post, which appeared on an ISIS-supporting Telegram channel yesterday, shows the text pasted between a Father Christmas hat and beard
The image was provided to Mail Online by MEMRI terror monitoring service.
Similar messages have been released in recent days. They generally come from Isis supporters rather than its central propaganda agency.
A poster circulated by the pro-ISIS Wafa Media Foundation earlier this week shows a masked figure driving towards St Peter’s Basilica with a gun inside his car.
At the top of the poster is the message ‘Christmas blood’ with the line ‘so wait…’ written in red underneath.
Analysts have warned of a possible upsurge in ISIS attacks overseas following the collapse of their so-called Caliphate in the Middle East.
Washington has stepped up advice to travellers after a series of atrocities this year – with fears extremists could strike again during the festive season.
The announcement today comes with security services in the UK in a state of high vigilance.
Wafa Media Group, a pro-ISIS organisation, posted this image online on Tuesday threatening to attack the Vatican on Christmas
Police have been in evidence at Christmas markets this week, although there is not thought to be any specific intelligence.
The current threat level is at severe, meaning that an attack is considered highly likely, but not expected ‘imminently’.
The US has a long-standing warning to its citizens to beware extremist attacks in European cities.
In recent years it has expressly warned of dangers at festive events.
ISIS has previously used Christmas celebrations as a focus for their attacks. Last year terrorist Anis Amri drove a truck into a festive market in Berlin, killing 12
The latest advice states: ‘Last year, mass casualty attacks occurred at a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany in December and a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey on New Year’s Eve.’
Last year a jihadist crashed a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people, while a New Year’s Eve attack in Istanbul left 39 dead.
The State Department said recent attacks in Britain, Finland, France, Russia, Spain and Sweden show that both ISIS and Al-Qaeda remain active and capable.