Isis magazine publishes photo of Cheshire florist Stephen Leyland advising followers to spill blood
Isis reportedly called for attacks in Rumiyah, a supposed new propaganda outlet for the Islamic State.
A bemused Cheshire florist has spoken of his alarm at being featured in what has been described as a 'new' Isis magazine as an example of a "crusader" whose blood could be taken by followers of the Islamist group.
A photograph depicting 64-year-old Stephen Leyland on his stall appears in issue one of Rumiyah magazine, alongside the exhortation to kill children playing in parks, pensioners in queues, "Even the blood of a merry crusader citizen selling flowers to passers-by."
When alerted to the threat, Leyland said he couldn't work out why his picture had been lifted from the internet or why jihadists might want to target him. "It has come as a bit of a shock," said Leyland.
"When I was first contacted I thought it was a wind-up. I really don't know what to do. I'm not scared but I am concerned that the photo is in this magazine," said Leyland, according to a report by The Independent.
Leyland added: "I don't know any jihadis. My customers are the Alderley Edge crowd, footballers' wives and those sort of people. They [counter-terrorism police] said that the Foreign Secretary had asked about it."
The glossy 38-page Rumiyah magazine is published in seven languages, including English, Pashto and French. On its cover is a photograph of former commander Abu Mohammed Al Adnani, killed in a recent air strike.
The magazine also calls for attacks on targets in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in vengeance for the death of Australian Ezzit Raad, who once served time for a plot to blow up the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
It is thought Rumiyah may be a replacement for Dabiq, the former Isis magazine, named after a town in northern Syria in danger of being retaken from the group by the Kurds. Isis believe a final battle between the caliphate and their many enemies will take place in Dabiq. Now that battle seems lost, but security experts warn the group retains the ability to launch attacks on soft western targets.
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