On May 21, 2015, ISIS' Sinai Province information bureau released a 17-minute audio message titled "Consolations and Messages" by Abu Osama Al-Masri, a commander of ISIS' branch in Sinai. In the audio, posted on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam and elsewhere,[1] Abu Osama threatens the Egyptian regime and its security apparatuses and pledges that ISIS will settle accounts with the tyrants and their accomplices, terminate their rule and raise the flag of the Caliphate throughout Egypt. He also comforts the families of ISIS members and other Sinai residents who have been killed or imprisoned by the Egyptian authorities, assuring them that their loved ones have not sacrificed in vain. Addressing all Muslims in Sinai, he urges them to take up arms against the Egyptian authorities or attack and kill Egyptian soldiers in any way they can.
It should be recalled that Egypt executed six ISIS activists this week.[2]
The following are the main points of Abu Osama's address:
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Abu Osama begins by consoling the families of slain ISIS fighters, stating that their sons did not die in vain, for they adopted the path of jihad for Allah. Addressing the families of prisoners, he assures them that ISIS will not rest until all the prisoners incarcerated by the tyrants are released. He urges the prisoners themselves to display patience and steadfastness and remember always that they are sacrificing for a sacred cause.
Abu Osama urges all Muslims in Sinai to rise up against the tyrants and not sit idly by while their sisters and brothers rot in prison. He says: "We must at least make the lives of the tyrants who imprisoned our brothers miserable. So you who are devout in your faith, take up arms! And if you cannot obtain arms, do not rest until you find someone you can attack by surprise and take his weapon and kill him with this weapon. Seek out any soldier, whoever he may be, from amongst the tyrants and kill him. Take his weapon and equip others [amongst your friends] with weapons. Do not allow them [the tyrants] to remain secure as long as your brothers are rotting in prison. Do not allow them to enjoy life as long as your brothers are tortured in prison. Take them, kill them… poison [their] food. Ambush them in their homes and on their roads, destroy their vehicles. If you can, learn [how to handle] explosives in order to detonate these [vehicles]. If you know where they live do not let them sleep in peace while your brothers are manacled in the chill of prison"
Abu Osama asks what Sinai's Muslims are waiting for while the tyrants bomb them from the air and burn their homes. If they do not act now, the tyrants will only escalate their attacks, he says. He urges all Sinai Muslims to aid the mujahideen, each according to his ability. He states that the tyrants' false propaganda seeks to drive a wedge between the mujahideen and the people of Sinai, but that their scheme will fail. He promises that he and his comrades will defend all Muslims in Sinai to the last drop of their blood.
