[Editor: Look for lone wolf Jihadists wearing a Cross in the near future.]
With that being the case, some of the instructions are familiar: shaving off beards, wearing Western clothes, how to structure a terrorist cell.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIS, or ISIL) has previously taken manpower, territory and funds from al-Qaeda. Now, it is taking its instruction books.
A story in London’s Daily Telegraph highlights that ISIS has commandeered and then updated a publication released by al-Fajr Media Center (al-Qaeda’s online distributor) called ‘Safety and security guidelines for lone wolf mujahideen and small cells’. ISIS has simply updated it to provide up-to-date advice for jihadis living in the West.
“Wear a Cross!”
With that being the case, some of the instructions are familiar: shaving off beards, wearing Western clothes, how to structure a terrorist cell. ISIS also gives its followers permission to wear a cross in order to throw others off their scent.
The document also discusses the importance of encrypting communications. While that is not entirely new, it does reflect jihadists’ Edward Snowden-inspired recognition that they needed to get smarter in this area in order to avoid detection. Indeed, the group recently created its own secure messaging app for precisely this reason.
‘Safety and security guidelines for lone wolf mujahideen and small cells’ also has a specific focus on ‘lone wolves’. Such operators tend to plan crude attacks using knives and guns, with the police and military commonly targeted.
The ISIS-inspired shooting of a policeman in Philadelphia is an example of this (although questions do remain about the extent to which the shooter, Edward Archer, was part of a larger network). Such plots require much less planning than 9/11-style ‘spectaculars’ and are therefore much harder for authorities to stop. Clearly, ISIS believes that it is this type of attack that its Western supporters have the best chance of pulling off in volume.
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Source: Why ISIS Is Directing Jihadists to Wear Christian Symbols
