Bloody Islamic State video puts China in cross hairs
Jihadist militants reportedly from Uygur ethnic group use video to say they will return home to ‘shed blood like rivers’
Islamic State militants from China’s Uygur ethnic minority have vowed to return home and “shed blood like rivers”, according to a jihadi-tracking firm, in what observers said marked the first IS threat against Chinese targets.
The threat came in a half-hour video released on Monday by a division of Islamic State in western Iraq, and featuring militants from China’s Uygur ethnic group, said the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which analysed the footage.
China has for years blamed exiled Uygur “separatists” for a series of violent attacks in its western Xinjiang region – the Uygur homeland – and warned of the potential for militants to link up with global jihadist groups.
In the video, a Uygur fighter issued the threat against China just before executing an alleged informant.
“Oh, you Chinese who do not understand what people say. We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons, to shed blood like rivers and avenge the oppressed,” a SITE translation read.