ISIS using coronavirus in spreading fear in Europe

Muazz Mohamed

Some groups are using the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in carrying out their evil plans against Europe, the continent most affected by the virus so far.

Terrorist groups launch a battle of disinformation and threaten to stage attacks against Europe.

Hate speech

The terrorist ISIS group described the coronavirus pandemic as a “punishment” inflicted by God on what it termed as the “Crusaders” in its bid to spread fear among European citizens.

The group uses fear in deflecting attention from its sleeper cells that prepare to start operating in European countries. These cells prepare to stage attacks, using the preoccupation of European governments with their battle against the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, ISIS encourages its members inside Kurdish jails in northern Syria to escape in order to participate in planned attacks in Europe.

Four ISIS inmates escaped a Kurdish prison in northern Syria on March 29, according to the Agence France-Presse.

Economy

Al-Qaeda also describes the coronavirus pandemic as a punishment from God, according to the intelligence group, SITE.

ISIS said, on the other hand, that more Americans were killed by the virus than by the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

It added that the virus had divulged the fragilities of the U.S. and that this country is not as strong as it appears.

SITE quoted some experts as saying that the ISIS discourse on the coronavirus is not foreign to the terrorist group which always links natural phenomena to heavenly anger.

ISIS usually adopts this discourse only to show that its enemies are weak, SITE said.

Causing harm to the American economy has always been an important goal on the agenda of terrorist organizations.

The late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden referred to the economic effects of the 9/11 attacks more than one time after his groups staged the attacks, SITE said.