The Islamic State group is hoping that continued chaos in Iraq and Syria will bring forth non-Muslim ground troops needed to fulfill an apocalyptic prophecy.
A recent issue of the terror group’s magazine Dabiq told the Islamic State group to prepare for the “the Great Battle” to occur at the Syrian city that shares the publication’s name.
“As the world progresses towards al-Malhamah al-Kubrā, (’the Great Battle’ to be held at Dabiq) the option to stand on the sidelines as a mere observer is being lost,” the magazine said, CNN reported Tuesday.
Dabiq’s reference to “the Great Battle” was not the first time Islamic State has talked about the end days. “Jihadi John” discussed the importance of the town during his execution video of American aid worker Peter Kassig.
“We bury the first crusader in Dabiq, eagerly waiting for the rest of your armies to arrive,” the terrorist said in November.
CNN’s national security analyst Peter Bergen said that the Sunni radicals are “deadly serious” and that they view themselves as the “vanguard fighting a religious war, which Allah has determined will be won by the forces of true Islam.”
SEE ALSO: Marie Harf, State Department, on Islamic State: ‘Can’t win by killing them’
The Obama administration took a different approach on Tuesday, saying that one cause for the Islamic State’s successful recruitment effort is a lack of job opportunities in the region.
“We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s a lack of opportunity for jobs, whether …” Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said before being cut off during an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
“We’re not going to be able to stop that in our lifetime or 50 lifetimes. There’s always going to be poor people. There’s always going to be poor Muslims, and as long as there are poor Muslims, the trumpet’s blowing and they’ll join,” the host replied.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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