Finland’s largest circulation daily Helsingin Sanomat reportedly acquired the video from the Washington-based think tank the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri), which in turn said it recorded the clip from an ISIS video released last December.
In the original video the man claims to have come from Finland and calls himself Abu Mansur – the same name used by an Espoo resident with a Somali background who reportedly died in Syria.
The daily could not, however determine whether or not the two were the same person. The deceased Espoo resident had previously linked to a Facebook page that pledged support for ISIS.
Video apparently recorded in Syria
The undated video appeared to have been recorded in Syria. In the clip the fighter was asked why he came to Syria. According to Arabic subtitles the man said he had come to establish an Islamic caliphate or religious state in Bilad Al-Sham, a term used among jihadists to refer to the ancient Syrian kingdom, which stretches from the Mediterranean to modern Iraq,
Finland’s security and intelligence police unit Supo said this week that Finland faces a heightened threat from the links between extreme Islam and terrorism. According to the specialist unit some 30 – 40 individuals have left Finland for Syria, half of them to fight.