A Palestinian terror group has claimed responsibility for the deadly wildfires that have spread across Arizona, according to reports.
A Palestinian jihadist group known as Masada al-Mujahideen took credit for the fires in a statement that was obtained and translated by Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, according to the Clarion Project.
The terror group claims that the fires are a reprisal for Israel’s "occupation" of what they say are Palestinian lands.
Nineteen firefighters have been killed while fighting the blaze.
"We had previously announced an unconventional war against the occupation state of Israel, and then we escalated this war to reach its main supporter, America, so that it receives a major share of it, which will destroy their flora and fauna, with permission from Allah and then with our hands," the group said, according to Clarion and SITE.
"In order to make it clear and to make it known that we can reach it when we warn it, and to make it certain that our hands don't just reach it but also strike it," the group reportedly said.
The group promises similar attacks in the future, stating that the Arizona fires "will not be the last, if America does not respond to our demands."
Clarion reported that al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for setting fires in several European nations.
"The summer 2012 issue of Inspire, the online propaganda magazine run by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, devoted 11 pages to starting forest fires in NATO countries, including instructions," Clarion reported.