A French ally of the Islamic State had issued an unusually specific threat against Halloween gatherings in the West before Tuesday’s attack in New York, a terrorism analyst reported.
According to Rukmini Callimachi, who covers ISIS for the New York Times and NBC, the an-Nur Centre Mediative made the threat Monday in four languages, including English.
On her Twitter feed, Ms. Callimachi noted that ISIS and its affiliates frequently threaten cities but rarely mention dates.
“Typically the threats are more amorphous - ’Attack London! Attack Paris!’ I rarely see a date on ISIS threats (though it’s not 1st time),” she wrote on her Twitter feed.
“Enjoy their rally. Terrorize them. 31 October 2017. #NoChoice. Get started before it’s too late,” the English exhortation reads over a red-tinted image of a bloody hand and blood-stained saber over the Eiffel Tower.
The same image was paired with similar exhortations in French, Russian and Dutch.
In Tuesday’s attack in New York, the suspect exited his truck after killing eight people on a bike path, yelling “allahu akbar,” a move that has led authorities to call the attack an act of terrorism.
The Islamic State called on its followers in the “Crusader” nations a few years ago to barrel trucks through crowds and there have been numerous such attacks in Europe since — in Nice, Berlin, Barcelona and London.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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