ISIS Calls for New Attacks in Iran, the U.S., and Europe

Reports indicate that the spokesperson for the Islamic State group, ISIS, has called for new attacks in Iran, the U.S., Europe, Russia, Australia, Iraq, Syria, and the Philippines during Ramadan in a voice message. According to Reuters, the audio message attributed to Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, the official spokesperson of ISIS, was released on Monday via the group's Telegram channel. The report adds that while the authenticity of this tape has not been officially confirmed, the voice of the person speaking in the tape bears a strong resemblance to the voice of the official spokesperson of ISIS in previous recordings. This call for new attacks comes after an armed assault on June 7 of this year at the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini and the Iranian Parliament, which resulted in 17 deaths and over 50 injuries. Iranian security forces stated that the five assailants killed during the attacks were Iranian citizens. ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack and threatened further assaults against Iran. Meanwhile, Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir also urged followers of ISIS in various countries to carry out new attacks. The spokesperson praised the group's fighters in Mosul, Raqqa, and Tal Afar, even as ISIS is losing its two main strongholds, Mosul and Raqqa. The group had captured Mosul and large parts of western Iraq in 2014, but has suffered significant defeats in Iraq over the past two years and currently controls only a small part of Mosul.