A military veteran has penned a scathing letter to the Islamic State militants in the Middle East, denouncing their brutal reign of terror in the wake of James Foley's execution.
In a post titled A Subtle Message to Isis, first uploaded to the Warfighter blog, Nick Powers - a Marine Corps veteran - made it clear he does not think the group formerly known as Isis should pick a fight with America’s veterans.
In the open letter, Powers warns the terrorist organisation that they are "poking the bear" with their repeated threats against America and, in return, doesn't exactly shy away from threatening them right back.
“As I sit here constantly hearing and watching you execute innocent men, women and children in the Middle East I chuckle,” writes Powers.
“Why do I chuckle you may ask? Well let me explain something to you cowardice fools who think you are so tough behind all your propaganda videos. You are scaring a population that doesn’t know how to fight, you’re bullying the weak.”
Powers then boasts about the 2003 invasion of Iraq where he tauntingly says it took US troops "about month to control your entire country".
"So all your empty threats of coming to America and raising your flag over the White House amuse me more than any of you sick, sadistic bastards could ever imagine or comprehend," he writes.
While many took to social media to back Powers' rant, other accused the veteran of exacerbating tensions.
A spokesperson from The Muslim Council told Metro newspaper Powers' letter was "Islamophobic."
"These kind of Islamophobic messages are the predictable result of the actions of the so-called ‘Islamic State’," a spokesperson said.
"Their activities, as listed in this letter, are clearly un-Islamic. There is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people, persecuting minorities or killing fellow Muslims."
In his letter, Powers also slammed the US government's treatment of war veterans and says if IS attacked America they would face "no mercy."
"There are literally millions of disgruntled, dysfunctional, pissed off veterans who have been dealing with years of abuse from their government stabbing them in the backs and having to watch their friends die because you Islamic extremist idiots can’t seem to act like normal human beings and stop terrorism and the violence," he wrote.
"Remember we are armed to the teeth in the US and I can promise you this… the Geneva Conventions will not apply to you."
"You attack us and there will be no mercy. We will bring the righteous hand of God down upon you and crush you. The ball is in your court now ISIS. We are more than ready to arrange your so called “meeting” with your 72 virgins and send you to your 'prophet' Mohamed.”
Here is the letter in full:
