By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on May 6, 2015
Two American loyalists of the Islamic State, Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi, were killed during an attempted attack—guided by the British Islamic State operative Junaid Husain—on the Curtis Culwell Centre in Garland, Texas, on 3 May 2015. The primary intent of Simpson and Soofi was to murder anti-Islam agitator Pamela Geller, who was among the chief sponsors of an event taking place in the Centre that day: The “First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest”.
A statement was circulated on 6 May 2017 by an American Islamic State supporter, “Abu Ibrahim al-Ameriki,” which claimed that Simpson and Soofi had been fully aware how well-guarded the Curtis Culwell Centre was but had intended “to show how easy we give our lives for the Sake of Allah”. Abu Ibrahim went on to threaten not only Geller but “[e]veryone who houses her events [or] gives her a platform”. Abu Ibrahim concluded by claiming that this attack was “only the beginning” of an Islamic State effort to establish a wilaya (province), as the Islamic State calls its foreign branches or affiliates, “in the heart of our enemy”. According to Abu Ibrahim, the Islamic State already has seventy-one “trained soldiers” in fifteen American states, including Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan.
Abu Ibrahim’s full statement is reproduced below, with some important sections highlighted in bold. Continue reading →