(NewsNation) — A social media account linked to the Islamic State group is circulating a potential threat aimed at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
The group’s supporters are sharing a poster of a manipulated image seemingly depicting the moments before a theoretical attack in Paris with text that warns of a lone wolf-style event.
The implied threat comes just weeks before the Paris Olympic games, all while French authorities are on their highest terror alert level after foiling an alleged Olympic-related plot in recent weeks.
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NewsNation was not able to confirm whether the poster is a credible threat to the games, but it is circulating on propaganda channels aligned with the Islamic State group.
Veryan Khan, CEO of the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, told NewsNation that although the poster is not an official communication from the Islamic State group, it’s meant to inspire individual attackers.
“All of these posters are not necessarily, in my opinion, saying that we’re getting a cell together and that we’re going to be able to attack a broad spectrum of venues at any one of these sporting events,” she said. “To me, it’s encouraging lone wolves to act on their own, and ‘here’s an instructional guide on how to do so.’”
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The threat made the rounds after last week when French police arrested a Ukrainian-Russian national who attempted to blow himself up in a hotel room north of Paris.
He suffered significant burns and is accused of terrorist conspiracy and a bomb plot.
Last month, France foiled a plot they say was directly related to the Olympics.
An 18-year-old from Chechnya is accused of planning to target spectators and police at Olympic soccer games.
Both the poster and the teen accused in an Olympic-related plot have links to the Islamic State group.
NewsNation reached out to the International Olympic Committee for a response but had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.
