TEL AVIV – There are many more than 900 Islamic State jihadists living in the United States who are prepared to strike if the opportunity arises and instructions are given, a top Islamic State-tied jihadist in the Gaza Strip claimed in an interview on Sunday.

Abu al-Ayna al-Ansari, a Salafist movement senior official in the Gaza Strip, was asked to comment on the number of IS cell members living in the U.S. He was asked to reply to a statement from FBI Director James Comey, who warned last October that the bureau is dealing with an estimated 900 active investigations into IS suspects and other homegrown extremists.

Ansari made the remarks in a pre-recorded interview to air in full tonight on this reporter’s radio talk show, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer ad NewsTalk 990 AM in Philadelphia.

Regarding the FBI numbers, Ansari stated:

This is a very, very small number (compared) to what we know about the presence of our brothers on the American soil. This is a ridiculous number of the American intelligence and I can tell you that this number that you mention, 900, is less than the number that I personally know. And the number that I know that brothers have in contact with people in the States. So imagine what are the number that the leader, the Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, knows and that he and his people are in contact with. Apparently, Allah wants to close the eyes of the American authorities and intelligence upon our brothers, the mujahedeen, in the United States, so that they can strike whenever the opportunity and whenever the instructions are given. Once again I tell you that this is a much smaller number than the number that I personally know of the mujahedeen members of the jihadiya salafiya (Salafi jihadist groups) that are right now on the soil of the United States.

Ansari used the same interview to claim that he “knows” that Omar Mateen, the Orlando club shooter, was a member of a terrorist organization. He did not elaborate on how he obtained the information. Later on Sunday, U.S. officials said that Mateen pledged allegiance to IS. Also on Sunday, the Amaq News Agency, which is closely affiliated with the Islamic State, said Mateen was an IS fighter.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.