A so-called “ISIS kill list” trended on Twitter over the weekend following the attacks that left more than 120 people dead in Paris, and many people were worried that their town would be targeted next. ISIS released the list in March 2015, and they were calling on supporters to kill more than 100 U.S. service members. A screenshot of cities on the list, circulated widely on Twitter on Saturday and Sunday, was from a NewsChannel10 report from March. The list was of cities where the 100 military members live. The “list” predated the attacks in Paris by about eight months.
The Islamic State, or ISIS, claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks on Friday night. The terrorist group based in Syria and Iraq said France is atop its target list.
“What happened yesterday in Paris and in Saint Denis is an act of war and this country needs to make the right decisions to fight this war,” French President Francois Hollande said.
He added: “This act committed by the terrorist army, Islamic State, is against who we are, against a free country that speaks to the whole world. It is an act of war prepared and planned outside, with outside involvement which this investigation will seek to establish. It is an act of absolute barbarism. France will be ruthless in its response to Islamic State.”
ISIS released a statement about the Paris attacks on Friday, and it read:
Eight brothers carrying explosive belts and guns targeted areas in the heart of the French capital that were specifically chosen in advance: the Stade de France during a match against Germany which the imbecile, Francois Hollande, was attending; the Bataclan where hundreds of idolaters were together in a party of perversity as well as other targets in the 10th, 11th and 18th arrondissement. France and those who follow its path must know they will remain on top of Islamic State targets, and the scent of death will not leave their noses.
But in March of this year, ISIS released the names and information of around 100 U.S. service members, asking followers or supporters to hunt and kill them. According to a Fox News report at the time:
An Islamic State “kill list” with the names, addresses and photos of American military members has triggered a federal investigation, the White House confirmed -- and one military spouse told Fox News she’s already heard from someone, who said they were with NCIS, urging her family to be vigilant.
Click2Houston.com reported in March that about a dozen servicemen with Texas addresses were on the list.
The U.S. Department of Defense said at the time that the “kill list” was mostly a scare tactic.
However, Twitter users on Saturday and Sunday were commenting on the list as if it were a recent news development, expressing fears that their town would get hit next.
A NewsChannel10 report was being heavily circulated over the weekend following the Paris attacks, and it includes a list of American cities, but those are in reference to the aforementioned addresses of U.S. service members. Many Twitter users were circulating a screenshot of the list of cities from the report.
