Who is the United Cyber Caliphate and why are they targeting Americans?

There are over 8,000 names on the list in countries including the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

A pro-ISIS hacking group called the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) released over 8,000 names on its latest "kill list" this week.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Of the 8,318 names listed, 7,848 are residents of the united States.

According to Vocative, 1,445 people on the list live in California, 643 live in Florida, 341 live in Washington, 333 in Texas, 331 in Illinois and 290 in New York.

The remaining people on the list live in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago.

The list was posted on Telegram Monday morning and the names and addresses of those to be targeted seem almost randomly selected.

U.S. President Donald Trump is among those listed, as are Minnesota police officers, State Department employees and seemingly ordinary Americans.

The Wall Street Journal reported counterterrorism officials have been hard at work to determine whether the list is legitimate or just another outlandish stunt to create terror.

The UCC also published satellite images of U.S. air bases around the world on its Telegram channel, though the same images can be found on Google Earth.

So who are the UCC?

According to The Sun, the UCC is composed of computer hackers who want to ally themselves with ISIS.

They dedicate their time to spreading terrorist propaganda online and leave messages on official websites, including an Australian airport and the French broadcaster TV5Monde.

The UCC pledged allegiance to ISIS and later released a video message threatening the United States, Trump and thousands of others on their kill list, which instructs terrorists to "kill them wherever you find them."

The Sun reported the message, which reads: "We have a message to the people of the US and most importantly your President Trump.

"Know that we continue to wage war against you. Know that your counter attacks only make us stronger. The UCC will start a new step in this war against you. So expect us soon Insha Allah!

"We will release as list with over 8,000 names, addresses and email addresses of those who fight against us. Kill them wherever you find them."

Former FBI agent, now a lawyer, Stuart Kaplan told CBS12: "If in face a sympathizer gets hold of this list and is readily able to identify you as being his neighbor and, then, decides to go out and do something horrific to you, there is no way to calculate the potential or prevent that."

Homeland Security strongly suggests you always report suspicious activity to their site. This can be done anonymously. You can also call 911 in the event of an emergency that requires an immediate response.

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