ISIS warns of more attacks in Spain in first Spanish-language video
Jihadists appearing in footage highlight “sacrifice of our brothers in Barcelona”
A week after terrorist attacks in Catalonia which left 15 people dead and over 100 injured, the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has released a video online warning of more attacks in Spain.
In the video two jihadists can be heard speaking Spanish with an Arabic accent and proclaiming: “Allah willing, Al Andalus will become once again what it was, part of the caliphate.” Al Andalus was the name given to the territory of southern and central Spain controlled for more than five centuries by Muslims.
“If you can’t make the hegira (journey or exodus) to the Islamic State, carry out jihad where you are; jihad doesn’t have borders,” says one of the men in the video whose face is uncovered and who is identified by a video title as Abu Lais Al Qurdubi, or Abu Lais “of Cordoba,” the southern Spanish city that was the capital of Al Andalus.
Later, the jihadist adds: “Spanish Christians: don’t forget the Muslim blood spilled during the Spanish inquisition. We will take revenge for your massacre, the one you are carrying out now against the Islamic State."
Spanish Christians: don’t forget the Muslim blood spilled during the Spanish inquisition Abu Lais Al Qurdubi, ISIS jihadist
According to police sources, the individual speaking is 22-year-old Muhammad Yasin Ahram Pérez from Cordoba. His father, the Moroccan Abdelah Ahram, 42, is currently in prison in Tangier for his active role in radical jihadism.
His mother Tomasa Pérez, from a Catholic family in Malaga, met Ahram in 1994. In 2014, she left Spain with her six children, including Muhammad, the oldest sibling, to go to Syria and live in territory controlled by the Islamic State.
The name of the other participant in the video is given as Abu Salman Al Andalus (Abu Salman ‘of Andalusia). His face is covered and only his eyes can be seen. He has a rifle on his shoulder.
“We hope that Allah accepts the sacrifice of our brothers in Barcelona. Our war with you will continue until the world ends,” he says.
The jihadist group ISIS declared a worldwide caliphate in 2014 with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi named as the caliph, or leader of all Muslims worldwide. However, this declaration has been rejected by mainstream Muslims while ISIS has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations and many individual countries.
English version by George Mills.
