Islamic State terrorists have pledged to “come to Rome” in a new message that was published by the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE), a private intelligence firm based in Washington.
Italian media report this morning that a tweet posted by SITE founder and director Rita Katz, the jihadists have launched a new hashtag on Twitter, saying that that “God willing” we will arrive in the Italian capital.
Photos show a convoy of vehicles armed with militants wearing balaclavas and carrying Islamic State flags.
Rita Katz has studied, tracked, and analyzed international terrorists, the global jihadist network and terrorism financing for more than a decade. Ms Katz has personally briefed government officials in the White House, Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Homeland Security on terrorist financing and recruitment networks.
Ms Katz is the author of TERRORIST HUNTER: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America.
Italian media said that this new development adds to the already worrying situation in Libya, from where Islamic State extremists recently threatened to send 500,000 migrants to Italy if their positions in Libya were attacked.
It is an explosive situation, Federica Mogherini, European Commissioner for foreign affairs said in New York.