Coronavirus: ISIS tells its members to stay clear of 'infected lands'

Victoria Bell
Updated ·2 min read
Police officers display a flag in Arabic that reads: "There is no god, but Allah" and "Of Allah is the Prophet, Muhammad" in Ampara, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 28, 2019. Police in Ampara showed The Associated Press on Sunday the explosives, chemicals and Islamic State flag they recovered from the site of one security force raid in the region as Sri Lanka's Catholics celebrated at televised Mass in the safety of their homes. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
ISIS have told its members to stay away from coronavirus-stricken Europe in their newsletter. (Getty)

Islamic State (ISIS) has told its members to stay clear of Europe because of the coronavirus.

The terrorist group has advised supporters to stay away from "the land of the epidemic", and instead has offered tips for them to follow like washing their hands frequently and "cover the mouth when yawning and sneezing".

In the group's latest al-Naba newsletter, instead of urging members to attack European cities, ISIS advises the healthy to not enter coronavirus-stricken areas in case they become infected, and "the afflicted should not exit from it”, according to the Sunday Times.

The terror outfit said ISIS members should maintain their faith in God and "put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses".

The newsletter refers to a “plague” described as a “torment sent by God on whomsoever He wills”.

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An infographic on the back cover shows a list of tips instructing militants on how to stop the pandemic's spread.

Security men stand in an empty street during a curfew imposed by Iraqi Kurdish authorities, following the outbreak of coronavirus, in Sulaimaniya, in Iraqi Kurdistan, lraq March 14. 2020. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed
Security men stand in an empty street during a curfew imposed by Iraqi Kurdish authorities, following the outbreak of coronavirus, in Sulaimaniya, in Iraqi Kurdistan, lraq. (Reuters)

Termed as the "Shari'i directives to deal with epidemics", the advisory contains advice like wearing a mask, practicing self-quarantine and fleeing from sick persons like one would flee a lion.

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Iraq, where most of the surviving fragments of the group remain, had 110 reported coronavirus cases on Sunday morning, 10 of them fatal, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the contagion.

In Syria, officials have shut schools and cancelled most public events ago stop the spread of the virus.

Although the country claims to be free of the virus, reports have suggested that they could be hiding cases, which would be difficult to detect in war-torn countries.

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Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian doctors detected cases of the virus in Damascus and at least three other provinces but were under orders to keep it quiet, Reuters reported.

Education minister Imad al-Azab has denied this.