“Leave your score on the leaderboard!” ISIS urges U.S. jihadis to launch more attacks

Days after posting a threat urging pro-ISIS attacks on Jewish targets in the West, jihadis are now pushing U.S.-based followers to launch attacks at home. In a Telegram message posted Wednesday and observed by The Foreign Desk, the pro-ISIS LM (Lone Mujahid) group featured a photo message with the 19 September 11 hijackers and a caption stating, “The 19 LIONS OF ALLAH, They raided Amerika on 9/11.” Beneath that, a map of the U.S. with three attacks claimed by ISIS, showing the San Bernardino terror attack of December 2014 that left 14 dead, the June 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub attack in which 54 people died and a stabbing attack in September at a St. Cloud mall in Minnesota that injured eight. An infographic from the ISIS Amaq newswire is also posted with a caption that reads, “The competition has already began! So when will you take part in the race and leave your score on the leaderboard!” The LM channel routinely posts large dumps of files and links to a channel containing PDFs and video tutorials on carrying out successful ‘lone wolf’ operations. Resources include videos, guides and tutorials, ranging from knife attack infographics to bomb assembly and oddly enough, full-length tutorials on Krav Maga, an Israeli-themed martial arts and self-defense technique. Earlier this week, the channel administrators urged supporters in the West to carry out attacks on Jewish communities, encouraging them to disguise themselves as Jews and strike Jewish targets, particularly in the U.K. “IF YOU'RE STILL IN THE WEST! Dress up like a Jew! Go to your nearest Jewish area! Make sure you have plenty of weapons under you coat! Then unleash the pain of the Muslims upon these A.P.E.S!!!,” the post says. The channel’s operations haven’t gone entirely unnoticed by Telegram support, who is actively attempting to monitor and shut down ISIS-linked channels. But the latest attempt at shutting down a jihad tutorial channel hasn’t been lost on jihadis either who swiftly retorted, “Gym workouts channel got knocked out by kuffs!! No problem! Here's the new channel link.” Kuffs is the abbreviated form of Kuffar, a derogatory term used to describe non-Muslims, meaning blaspheme.