Figures of armed jihadi fighters in the center of the image and U.S. troops on the right are all portrayed against a partial map of Iraq. The combination of the map and the fighters designates Iraq as an important theater for jihad, and implies a national obligation to join the struggle in order to establish a true Islamic state there. At the same time, the fact that the map and caption appear in English indicates that the image was designed to target U.S. troops.
The American flag, which appears on the right side of the image, is widely used in jihadi propaganda to evoke negative sentiments surrounding U.S. foreign policy and military campaigns. In this image, the flag appears on a soldier’s coffin as part of an image of a military funeral. Superimposed on this scene are flames and smoke evoking the notion of hell, verbalized in the caption “American Hell 2 in Ramadi.” The concept of hell in Islam is similar to that in Christianity, namely, a place of eternal suffering and fire for the unbelievers, the tyrannical and the unjust. The military vehicle ablaze on the left side of the image, combined with its proximity to the figures of the jihadi fighters, is designed to give the viewer a sense of the success of the jihadi side. The sense is particularly palpable when juxtaposed with the vulnerable, mournful American scene on the right. The caption is likely a reference to the Second Battle of Ramadi, which was a battle waged from June to November 2006 over control of the capital of al-Anbar province in western Iraq. It was during this battle that U.S. Navy Seal Michael A. Monsoor threw himself on a grenade that threatened the lives of other members of his team, an act for which Monsoor was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
