...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
has turned its sights on a new enemy: Russia. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Islamic State’s central propaganda apparatus initiated a Ukraine-focused media campaign in its weekly al-Naba newsletter under the headline "Crusader Against Crusader Wars," in which the group reveled in the mutual destruction of its declared adversaries on the European continent.
"This bloody war taking place today, between the Orthodox crusaders—Russia and Ukraine—is an example of the punishment that was unleashed upon them and is forever glued to them." The conflict, the article argues, is about power and "a manifestation of the escalating competition between America and Russia for control of the Eastern European countries." The Islamic State says the "crusader against crusader wars" are just beginning, and the article concludes with an appeal: "O Allah, make their wars bloody and plant discord in their hearts; pour your wrath and torment upon them."
Following the al-Naba item, the Islamic State’s central propaganda outlets moved on to other issues; however, pro-Islamic State media groups continued the discourse and carried on producing their own content. During the summer of 2022, the group’s Afghanistan branch, known as the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K)—named after a that encompassed northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan—emerged as the leading voice on the Russia-Ukraine war and began spearheading the campaign to capitalize on the conflict that dominates daily global news headlines.
Russia is a familiar enemy for Sunni jihadists and has found itself in the crosshairs of IS-K for several reasons. According to IS-K, Moscow’s hands are covered in Moslem blood, especially in Afghanistan, where the legacy of the decade-long Soviet-Afghan War still looms large. IS-K narratives frequently point to Russia’s historical entanglement in Afghanistan and current relations with the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban..., highlighting Moscow’s of the Taliban to gain access to Afghanistan, while in return, the Taliban hopes to acquire international recognition and support.
Further, the Russian military’s brutal tactics in multiple Chechen wars and its scorched-earth counterinsurgency campaign in the Caucasus mean that there is no love lost for Russia. The Kremlin’s continued assistance to notorious dictator Bashir al-Assad in Syria, where targeted Sunni strongholds during the long-running civil war, cements Russia’s image as a worthwhile enemy to focus on. Taken together, these factors make Russia an attractive target for IS-K propaganda.