The Islamic State group urged its followers on Monday to attack citizens of the United States, France and other countries that have joined a coalition to destroy the militant group.
Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani told the militant group's followers: "If you can kill a disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy French -- or an Australian, or a Canadian or any other disbeliever ... including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him.
"Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military," Adnani also said in the message, which was released in multiple languages and carried by the SITE monitoring website.
Adnani's message gave instructions on how the killings could be carried out without military equipment.
He made his calls in a 41-minute audio statement to militants released on the SITE monitoring website.
Reuters could not independently verify the audio statement.
International coalition
The United States is building an international coalition to combat the radical Sunni Muslim group, which has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.
U.S. and French warplanes have struck Islamic State targets in Iraq and on Sunday the United States said other countries had indicated a willingness to join it if it goes ahead with airstrikes against the group in Syria, too.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that more than 50 countries have come forward with commitments as part of the coalition, including Egypt and other Arab states.
The Islamic State group also urged insurgents in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Monday to press ahead with attacks against Egyptian security forces and beheadings.
"Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may be. Turn their life into fear and hell," Adnani said.
The IS spokesman also taunted President Barack Obama and other Western “crusaders” in the statement carried by SITE, saying their forces faced inevitable defeat at the militants' hands.
Warns US-led campaign
Adnani said the military intervention by the U.S.-led coalition would be the “final campaign of the crusaders,” according to the transcript published by SITE.
“It will be broken and defeated, just as all your previous campaigns were broken and defeated,” he said in the statement that urged followers to attack U.S., French, Canadian, Australian and other nationals.
Obama has authorized airstrikes in Syria aimed at denying Islamic State fighters safe havens there. Washington has also committed $500 million to arm and train Syrian rebels and has sent 1,600 U.S. troops back into Iraq to fight the group.
In his statement, Adnani mocked Western leaders over their deepening military engagement in the region and said Obama was repeating the mistakes of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
“If you fight it (Islamic State), it becomes stronger and tougher. If you leave it alone, it grows and expands. If Obama has promised you with defeating the Islamic State, then Bush has also lied before him,” Adnani said, according to the transcript.
Adnani also condemned Saudi Arabia, whose senior Muslim clergy have denounced Islamic State fighters and whose ruling royal family has joined other Arab states in a pledge to tackle militant ideology as part of a strategy to counter the group.
Criticizes the West
Adnani slammed Western inaction over the conflict in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been embroiled in a three-year-old civil war with mainly Sunni Muslim fighters.
He said the West had “looked the other way” when barrel bombs were dropped and chemical weapons were used against Muslim civilians.
“So know that - by Allah - we fear not the swarms of planes, nor ballistic missiles, nor drones, nor satellites, nor battleships, nor weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
Addressing Obama directly, Adnani added: “O mule of the Jews, you claimed today that America would not be drawn into a war on the ground. No, it will be drawn and dragged. It will come down to the ground and it will be led to its death, grave and destruction.”
Obama, who has spent much of his tenure extracting the United States from Iraq after its costly 2003 invasion and occupation, is sensitive to charges that he is being drawn into another long campaign that risks U.S. soldiers' lives.
Also on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with his Security Council the potential for cooperation with other countries on fighting against Islamic State militants, Russian news agencies cited the Kremlin's spokesman as saying.
Russia, whose ties with Washington are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War, has not yet responded to calls from the United States to build an international coalition to destroy the radical Sunni Muslim group.
“Permanent members of the Security Council exchanged opinions on possible forms of cooperation with other partners on a plan to counter Islamic State in the framework of international law,” Interfax quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
Peskov did not say who the other partners were.
Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
