ISIS Al-Furat Province Video Celebrates Paris Attacks, Features Previously-Released Images From New York City To Hint At Attack

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On November 18, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) media company in the Al-Furat province released a video celebrating the Paris attacks. The video features several ISIS fighters praising the authors of the 13/11 Paris attacks and threatening the West with more terror attacks to come. The five-and-a- half minute video titled "And our Soldiers will prevail" was hosted on archive.org and distributed via Twitter and Telegram.

The video targeted primarily at France, includes the soundtrack from a recent nasheed [song] in French titled "Go Forth, Go Forth," which calls for attacks against ISIS's enemies[i] as well as images from another French nasheed [ii]. The video also contains scenes lifted from previously-released footage of an ISIS German nasheed video, released online in April 2015, which calls for attacks on Western countries, including France, Germany, and the U.S[iii].

The images taken from the April video, allude to forthcoming suicide attacks in the U.S. We see an explosives vest being assembled and then it is worn by an unidentified individual. Various scenes of New York City, including Times Square follow, and then a man pushes a detonator, presumably that of his explosives vest.

The video opens with the following written statement: "In the month of September, France declared war on the Islamic State without thinking of the consequences" and shows various archival footage of the coalition strikes against ISIS as well as a speech by French president Francois Hollande declaring that France is joining the coalition against ISIS.

Several men deliver messages in the video. One of them is a French-speaking fighter known as Abu Tasnim aka Salahudin Shabbaz aka Abu Miqdam Al-Faransi, a French citizen of Haitian origin[iv]. Abu Miqdam had been extremely active on social media even prior to his joining the Islamic state in 2013[v]. He shared photos of his journey to Syria through Turkey, and maintained an active presence on Twitter until he was reported killed on August 23 2015 by the ISIS Al-Furat media desk. He speaks in the video, in French: "By Allah brothers, may each one of us keep in mind that martyrdom-seeking operations and operations involving plunging into enemy lines are the optimal actions for Allah… And to all those weak Muslims who believe that the power of America or France is still meaningful, we tell them that they may have drones, planes and missiles, but we have Faith. And it encompasses all, and it destroys it all… Let them come, we will be ready to receive them, the Islamic state will live on despite them and may they die in their rage."

A second masked man praises the Paris attacks, and threatens the "tyrants" of Arab and Western countries with more calamities. A third speaker then praises the "blessed raid" in Paris, and warns member countries in the anti-ISIS coalition that ISIS is coming to their homelands. Finally, a young boy congratulates ISIS for the Paris attacks, and threatens the "Crusaders" that those were only the "first rain." The video closes with an ominous written statement: "And what is to come will be worse and more bitter".