Sydney Hostage Taking: Islamic State-Linked?

by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi  •  Dec 14, 2014 at 7:22 pm

News has just emerged of a hostage taking at a shop in Sydney, Australia, with questions raised about whether this is linked to the Islamic State (IS). At present, based on the use of the flag (namely, the black flag of jihad with white shahadah script), we cannot definitely say so. IS rather uses the 'Sacred Seal' black flag as a distinct marker of identity. That said, jihadis and their supporters in the West have held rallies where both flags are used.

Media have tended to confuse the IS flag with the more generic black flag of jihad. Caution is needed at the present time even as it is certainly possible that this is a case of an IS-inspired 'lone wolf attack' that was encouraged by IS' official spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani in response to the international coalition against IS.

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