‘God’s punishment’: Isis rejoicing over George Floyd protests in the US, ex-militant says
- The terror group sees their enemy as being destroyed by the unrest, says an ex-leader of al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian network
- But experts say militants won’t take the chance to strike and that right-wing domestic groups pose the most immediate threat to the US
As protests spill across the United States, Islamic State and Indonesian militants are celebrating what they describe as “God’s punishment” for a country they view as an enemy, a former militant says.
“[The militants] are very pleased … the chaos and losses in the US make them very happy,” said Sofyan Tsauri, a former senior figure in al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian network.
“The US is their enemy and they see their enemy as being destroyed. Secondly, discrimination is not part of the teachings of Islam,” said Sofyan, who spent five years in jail for helping to arm terror groups.
He was released in 2015 and now supports Indonesia’s counterterrorism effort by sharing his knowledge at seminars.
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Students in Iran rally in solidarity with George Floyd protesters in the US
On Facebook posts seen by This Week in Asia, an alleged member of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, the Indonesian affiliate of Isis, shared videos of the US protests with the captions “Good job bro” and “Good news. The ‘Trumpet’ family flees”.