Islamic State targets Russian Orthodox Church head and Putin

Islamic State is taking aim at the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, as well as the Russian president Vladimir Putin in new propaganda posters alongside previous posters depicting the US and London as targets, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

The new poster depicting the Russian spiritual and political leaders shows the pair in crosshairs, with the words 'BREAK THE CROSS' in English and 'soon, very soon' in both Arabic and Russian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) congratulates Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on his birthday during a ceremony in Moscow, Russia on November 20, 2016. The pair have been depicted in Islamic State posters. Reuters

The poster has been released ahead of the Russian presidential elections on March 18, and comes after Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of five Orthodox women outside their church in Dagestan on Sunday, February 18.

Islamic state is also violently opposed to Russian support for the Syrian regime in that country's civil war.

Another poster being circulated among Islamist extremists shows an armed jihadist in front of an image of Big Ben and the British Parliament in London. According to the SITE Intelligence, another poster calls for militants to 'burn America'.

A previous image of Big Ben was revealed in November, showing the famous clock tower burning with a large crack across its side and an ISIS flag flying atop it, reported The Daily Mail. The message read: 'We will destroy your country, as you destroyed our country'.

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