Islamic State-related graffiti has been popping around several neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., area, according to the Daily Intelligencer's Marin Cogan.
The markings and vandalism were first noticed by New York Magazine's Marin Cogan, a resident of the Northwest quadrant of the nation's capital, in her neighborhood. However, it remains unclear what the messages are attempting to convey.
"On Friday, I noticed something I don't remember seeing before: ISIS-related graffiti around my Northwest Washington neighborhood," Cogan writes.
"Here are two examples [at left and below], which appear to say Allahu Akbar (by the permission of God), from Connecticut Avenue between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan," added Cogan, who included photos of the graffiti in her story that was published Tuesday.
Another example of similar ISIS graffiti was also tweeted by D.C. resident Ilhan Tanir, Newsmax reported.
"There are more, which say 'by the permission of God' in Arabic and 'CIA' in English, but it's difficult to interpret what, if anything, they might mean," Cogan said.
"I'll bet it's just someone goofing off," Will McCants, director of the Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, who saw the graffiti in D.C., said. "Why write Allah Akbar in Arabic and then switch to the Latin alphabet for ISIS?"
The FBI is also reportedly "aware of the graffiti" and asks "anyone who sees suspicious activity or if anyone has any information about this vandalism to report it to the local authorities or to the FBI," Andrew Ames, FBI spokesman, told Cogan after she contacted the FBI, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Separately, a tweet that allegedly showed a photo of the black ISIS flag in front of the White House, with the message, "We are in your state, We are in your cities, We are in your streets, You are our goals anywhere" was being analyzed by the Secret Service in August. But the image was never verified by the agency.
Meanwhile, as many as 15,000 foreign fighters are operating in Syria, U.S. officials have estimated, including 3,000 westerners and around 100 Americans fighting alongside extremists groups in the Middle East, according to Reuters.
