ISIL calls for conquest of İstanbul, war against ‘treacherous’ Erdoğan

The people of Turkey have been called to war against the “treacherous” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and to conquer the city of İstanbul, according to a video released by extremist terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Reciting verses from the Quran, a militant clad in grey combat gear and sporting an ashen beard said that on the command of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the “amīr al-mu'minīn,” translating to “commander of the faithful,” also used to signify caliphs, “all believers should conquer İstanbul, [the city] that the treacherous Erdoğan is trying, day and night, to give to the crusaders.”

The militant making a call for war in the video is claimed to have joined ISIL in 2014, according to a report in the Milliyet daily on Tuesday.

The unnamed militant, who has a Kalashnikov rifle resting between his arms at all times during the video footage, speaks fluent Turkish. He calls on the people of Turkey to “rise up and fight” against the infidels, crusaders and those “taghuts” -- idolaters of false gods -- who trick people into becoming the slaves of the crusaders.

The ISIL militant also calls on the people to repent from the sins that caused the people of Turkey to be governed by such taghuts, referring to Erdoğan, and his friends. He also calls on the people to refrain from democracy, secularism, man-made laws and all idolaters of false gods.


ISIL militants had vowed to ‘liberate' İstanbul in past

A threat was previously made by an ISIL militant to “liberate” İstanbul if the Turkish government refused to release more water from the Euphrates River to Syria.

The militant, who introduced himself as ISIL press officer Abu Mosa in a Vice News documentary on ISIL put out in August 2014, urged Turkey to release more water from the Euphrates River, warning that otherwise the group would do so from İstanbul when it "liberates" the city.

Mosa was later killed during air strikes by the Syrian government forces on ISIL militants attacking an air base in northeast Syria.

With regard to reduced water supplies from the Euphrates River to the province of Raqqa, which is ISIL's self-declared capital, he said, "I pray to God that the apostate [Turkish] government reconsiders its decisions. Because if they do not reconsider it now, we will reconsider it for them by liberating İstanbul."

“God willing, if they don't open it [the dam], we will open it from İstanbul,” he said. When asked if this is a threat, he said: “Yes, it is a clear threat.”

read more >>