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Turkish troops backed by American commandos are just three miles from Dabiq

According to the extremists' twisted ideology, Dabiq - a tiny town in northern Syria - will see a "major apocalyptic showdown with the armies of the infidel" that will result in the collapse of civilisation. And Turkish troops backed by American commandos are understood to be just three miles from the town. ISIS claim the battle will erupt in a field outside the small town, which in 2004 recorded a population of just 3,000 people.

ISIS even named its terrorist propaganda and recruitment magazine after the settlement, which lies around six miles from the Turkish border. Jihadists believe the Prophet Mohammed remarked that "the last hour will not come" until an army vanquishes the Romans at "Dabiq or Al-A'maq". One of the founders of ISIS, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is quoted in the vile group's propaganda magazine as saying: "The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify - by Allah's permission - until it burns the crusader armies in Dābiq."


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Reports in recent days that Turkish artillery fire has hit the town, in the northern countryside of Aleppo, suggest that battle may now have begun. Amaq - the terror network's own 'news agency' - claimed a man died in the strike last Friday. ISIS has vowed to revert to an early form of Islam and their prediction of a battle at Dabiq fits this narrative.

GETTY Fighting in Dabiq


GETTY ISIS claim the battle will erupt in a field outside the small town

ISIS supporters believe the final battle could be coming sooner rather than later. According to their theory, "nations gathering under 80 flags will confront the Muslim armies". For many jihadists, the alliance of Western and other powers against ISIS in bombing raids over Iraq and Syria is seen as the fulfilment of that prophecy. The Prophet Mohammed is said to have declared 1,400 years ago: "The last hour will not come until the Romans arrived in al-A'maq or Dabiq, and an army consisting of the best people on earth in those days will hasten them from Medina."

GETTY Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - one of the ISIS founders

GETTY ISIS supporters believe the final battle could be coming sooner rather than later

According to the prophecy, one third of the Islamist fighters will flee the town while another third will be killed. But the group believes the remaining third will survive the battle and triumph against the Western forces. This warped ideology contrasts with the group's humiliating daily defeat on the battlefield.