ISIS has told Americans it wants to “drink their blood” in a twisted message promising attacks on the US.
Circulating on pro-Islamic State messaging channels the statement follows warnings of attacks on the major sporting events this summer including the T20 World Cup and Paris Olympics.
Titled “An open letter to Americans”, the ISIS message blames US Citizens for failing to “stop your filthy leadership shedding the blood of Muslims in Palestine, Syria and elsewhere” and warns them “nothing is tastier to us than drinking your blood to quench our avenging thirst.”
It goes on to state that ISIS has “matryrdom seekers” who live amongst them “like silent hunters waiting to pounce on you when you are most gullible and foolish.”
The letter adds that Americans should take the threats seriously because ISIS supporters are a “people of action” and its supporters “love death more than you love your worthless lives.”
It comes after The Express uncovered specific threats being made by ISIS targeting the T20 Cricket World Cup game between India and Pakistan due to take place on Sunday in the Al Nassau Stadium in New York.
Materials posted in encrypted pro-ISIS messaging groups urged “lone Wolves” to “target them all” in propaganda videos and pictures showing masked terrorists and explosions at the venue where the game will take place.
Evidence seen by The Express suggests many of the administrators of the chat groups where these vile messages are exchanged are being controlled from internet addresses across the USA.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations told The Express it was aware of the threatening online posts related to the cricket but added in a statement that while “we have no information to indicate a specific threat to the event at this time, FBI New York takes all threats seriously.”
“We continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners, including event organisers, to act upon information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any and all suspicious activity, individuals, or both to law enforcement immediately,” they said.
A spokesperson for tournament organisers the International Cricket Council (ICC) reiterated the sense of preparedness.
“The safety and security of everyone at the event is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” they said.
“We work closely with authorities in our host countries and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.”
Lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the University of Salford, Dr Anna Kruglova, explained it was important to take threats from official channels seriously.
“It’s definitely something to pay attention to,” she told The Express, “whether it’s a scare tactic or not is often hard to tell because a lot of those groups are trying to keep the anticipation of the attack going. But it’s definitely better to be overprepared than underprepared.”
A common thread between the open letter and threats to the sporting events is the decision to try and weaponise conflict in the Middle East.
Dr Kruglova said this should be expected from an organisation which also attempted to use the Syrian civil war for its gain.
“One of the narratives the jihadist groups use is this idea that the Muslim community is victimised and oppressed that there is a war conducted by the West or West’s affiliates against the global Muslim community,” she continued.
“So in this sense, yes, of course, the conflict between Israel and Palestine is going to be a very powerful tool to capitalise on when it comes to radicalisation of people.”
Last month, security experts warned that sporting event organisers were underprepared for the threat of drone attacks ISIS has been promising to inflict on crowds this summer.
The Express also revealed that a UK company’s technology was being used by religious fanatics to hide their communications as they plotted terrorist atrocities.