TerrorismISIS leader calls on U.S., European followers to attack in U.S. and Europe during Ramadan

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Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, a close aide and a possible successor to leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has called on the international followers of ISIS to carry out attacks on civilians during the holy month of Ramadan. He said that lone wolf attacks in the United States and Europe were “dearer to us than the biggest action by us” in Iraq and Syria. CBS News reports that the comments come in a 31-minute audio message released by ISIS’s al-Furqan media wing. It is the first time Adnani has been seen or heard in a recording since last October.

The message contained references to recent military setbacks the group has suffered.

“Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad,” Adnani said. “Get prepared, be ready … to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers … especially for the fighters and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America.

“The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us. If one of you hoped to reach the Islamic State, we wish we were in your place to punish the Crusaders day and night.”

Analyst say the speech may have aimed to boost fighters’ morale, with Adnani insisting the U.S.-led Coalition’s efforts were doomed to fail as America “[falls] in the swamp of perdition” – but it was an admission, by one of the highest leaders of ISIS, of the group’s losses on the battlefield.

“Do you think you have won because you have killed one or more leaders? It is a false victory,” he said. “Even if we lose Raqqa or Sirte, we won’t be defeated. Defeat is the loss of will and the desire to fight.”

Analysts also note that such messages are often the only proof offered to the international community that ISIS leaders are still alive — and that we should soon expect a message from Baghdadi himself.