Isis releases videos threatening France of intensified strikes following Nice truck attack

Islamic State (Isis), in new videos released through their media outlets, has threatened to intensify attacks on France. The jihadist group, which is also called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), has called on its supporters to take inspiration from their "soldier" Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who killed 84 people in Nice, France, on 14 July by ramming a 19-tonne lorry into the crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the city.

France, which is an ally of the US-led coalition that is conducting air strikes on IS (Daesh) bastions in Syria and Iraq, has been a prime target of the terror outfit. Concerned with the rise in the number of Isis attacks in different parts of the world, the US is hosting a high-level meeting of defence and foreign ministers from across the world in Washington to discuss plans on countering the militant group globally.

In one of the propaganda videos released by Isis-run media outlet Wilayat Nineveh, two French-speaking Isis fighters are seen addressing French President Francois Hollande. They threaten the president saying they will "intensify" their attacks in the country and that the Nice truck attack was a proof of their strength. They are then seen beheading two men, claiming that they are Iraqi Shiite soldiers captured in recent operations in Nineveh Province. The video also shows locals saying that the Nice attack was expected and the people there "had it coming to them for bombing our homes." Isis had claimed responsibility for the Bastille Day attack two days later, saying that the truck driver, who was shot dead following the rampage, was "one of our soldiers".

In another video released on Wilayat al-Furat, a French speaking Isis fighter is seen describing how the Nice attack was carried out. The man says the attack was carried out by an "inspired Muslim" and calls on others to follow Bouhlel's example and hit France, "whose air force continues to kill innocent Muslims in Iraq and Syria."

The video also features a quote from Isis spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who had delivered a speech in 2014 urging Muslims to "kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French," using "any manner" they could find. In the latest video, Adnani delivers his "Die in Your Rage" speech and urges Muslims to carry out lone wolf attacks against the Western countries, The Telegraph reported.