Islamic State Mag Praises Ohio State Jihadi, Doubles Down on Knife Attacks

Police cover the body of a suspect outside Watts Hall on the campus of Ohio State Universi
Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch via AP
Edwin Mora

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), in the latest edition of its online propaganda magazine Rumiyah, applauds the “martyrdom” of the Ohio State University (OSU) jihadi who used a butcher knife and vehicle to attack people and repeats instructions on carrying out more knife attacks.

In the English version of the magazine’s fourth edition released Wednesday, ISIS provides “a full-page spread on knife attack advice” along with new charts and pictures instructing prospective jihadists on the best knives to use and the most lethal parts of the body to stab, report the Foreign Desk and the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadi activity online.

The publication, released in English, French, Turkish, Pashtu, Russian, German, Kurdish, and other languages, identifies OSU terrorist Abdul Razak Ali Artan as an “Islamic State soldier.”

“The attack was carried out in response to the Islamic State’s call to target citizens of the nations involved in the Crusader coalition [against ISIS in Iraq and Syria],” it adds.

In previous editions of the online magazine Rumiyah, ISIS has devoted articles to terrorist tactics, including knife attacks and using vehicles as tools of terror.

October’s edition featured a knife-jihad tutorial similar to the one in the latest version that includes various knives and where on the body to lethally stab. In November, the magazine focused on how effective a vehicle attack like the one that occurred in Nice, France, in July could be in inflicting a large number of casualties.

Citing the Nice attack that killed more than 80 pedestrians and wounded nearly 400 others, the ISIS magazine encouraged jihadists to rent heavy trucks and target large outdoor gatherings “to ensure utmost carnage up on the enemies of Allah.”

The latest Rumiyah edition alluded to a Facebook rant posted by the jihadi Artan minutes before he carried out the attack at OSU.

According to the magazine, the jihadist wrote, “By Allah, I am willing to kill a billion infidels in retribution for a single Muslim or Muslimah.”

The magazine was released a day before President-elect Donald Trump’s visit with the victims and first responders of the OSU tragedy.

Somali college student Artan, a legal permanent resident admitted into the United States as a refugee in 2014, carried out the terrorist attack on November 28.

A law enforcement officer killed him soon after he rammed his vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians before stepping out and stabbing people with a butcher knife, ultimately wounding 11 innocent civilians.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack the next day. FBI officials believe ISIS and its rival al-Qaeda inspired Artan. He praised the radical American-born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki as a “hero” in the Facebook rant he posted minutes before the attack.

Prior to being admitted into the United States, Artan resided in Pakistan, a breeding ground for terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, for seven years.

“Just days before the campus attack, ISIS-linked media put out an extensive tutorial video… on how to properly behead someone using only a kitchen knife,” notes the Foreign Desk.

Some versions of the latest Rumiyah publication have been dismissed as unauthentic by ISIS-linked social media sites.

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