The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
The Islamic State (ISIS) released a statement claiming responsibility for yesterday's chain of deadly attacks in Paris in which, as of this writing, 128 people are known to have been killed. ISIS said that the attack was a response to France's war on Islam and its insult to Muhammad, and threatened that the attack against France was a warning and only the "first rain." It also promised that France would remain at the top of its list of targets as long as it maintains its war against Islam and Muslims.
Detailing the compound attack, ISIS revealed that eight men wearing explosive belts and carrying machine guns had raided "carefully chosen" targets in the heart of the French capital, including the Stade de France national stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, and a number of targets in the 10th, 11th and 18th districts. ISIS claimed that the attackers blew themselves up after running out of ammo.
Referring to the targeting of Stade De France, ISIS said that the "lunatic of France," French President Francois Hollande, was attending a game between the "Crusader France and Germany" teams when the attack happened.
About the Bataclan concert hall, where the majority of the victims were killed while attending a concert by an American rock band, Eagles of Death Metal, ISIS wrote that the place had been packed with hundreds of "polytheists" who were attending a party of "fornication and debauchery."
ISIS celebrated the attack, saying that thanks to Allah the simultaneous attack had succeeded in shaking Paris and its streets, and killing more than "200 Crusaders."
Justifying the attack and threatening more attacks, ISIS wrote:
"Let France and those following its path realize that they shall remain at the top of the Islamic State list of targets, and that the scent of death shall not leave their noses, as long as they lead the caravan of the Crusade campaign, and [as long as they] dare to insult the honor of our Prophet... [and as long as they] brag about fighting Islam inside France, and striking Muslims in the land of the caliphate with their airplanes, which helped them not a bit in the streets and filthy alleys of Paris. And this raid is the first rain and a warning to whoever wishes to take a lesson."
ISIS's statement was released in written and audio versions, in Arabic and French.
Source: Shumoukh Al-Islam, November 14, 2015.