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August 8, 2014 JTTM Weekly No. 108

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

August 8, 2014
JTTM Weekly No. 108

The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)

Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Russian Fighter Posts Photos Of Islamic State’s Oil Revenues


Dinis Sabirov

Dinis Sabirov, a Russian from Ufa in Bashkortostan, fought for the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and is now apparently in Iraq. According to his profile on the Russian social network VKontakte (VK), on which he has been active since October 2011, he is 24 years old and married. The content of the account indicates that he has been involved in jihad for at least a year and that he moved from Syria to Iraq this July. Sabirov often posts photos documenting his experiences in Syria and Iraq, including a recent series of photos showing IS members counting large stashes of cash earned from the organization’s sale of oil and gas.

His VK posts also indicate that he is personally involved in helping foreign fighters reach the jihad fronts and in recruiting funds for the jihad. His recent photos from Iraq show an IS weapons arsenal and a lab for producing explosives, as well as IS members in an office handling large amounts of cash. His access to these locations suggests that he is a fairly senior and a trusted member of the force in which he is a member.

 

Clashes Between IS-Kurdish Forces Continue: IS Occupies Large Areas; Conflicting Reports On Capture Of Mosul Dam; Unconfirmed Reports That IS Official Omar Al-Shishani Was Killed By Peshmerga Forces

Between August 5 and 7, 2014, the Islamic State (IS) information office in Nineveh province in northwestern Iraq issued three official communiques summarizing the organization's recent achievements against the Kurdish Peshmerga and Asayish forces. According to the communiques, the IS took over wide sections of northwest Nineveh and completely conquered the provinces of Sinjar, Talkif, Al-Hamdaniya, and Makhmour. It also took over the oil-rich town of Ein Zala, various neighborhoods in Mosul, and the strategic Mosul Dam, and more.

It should be noted that while these areas have a Kurdish population, they are not part of the autonomous region of Kurdistan. However, Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani was photographed visiting the Mosul Dam, and the photo was released to refute claims that it had been taken by IS.

 

Islamic State Video Features American, European Fighters Celebrating Eid Al-Fitr

On August 3, 2014, the Islamic State (IS, formerly Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) released a video titled “Eid Greetings from the Land of Khilafa [Caliphate]” highlighted by the Eid Al-Fitr celebrations in the IS Syrian stronghold of Al-Raqqa. The 20 minute-long video, was produced by Al-Hayat Medic Center, IS’s media wing aimed at Western Muslims. Starring in the video are several Western fighters, mostly Europeans with one U.S. national and one South African, who praise life under IS rule and urge fellow Muslims to come to Syria and join them.

 

In Official Statement, IS's Ninawa Province Declares: 'We Have Seized Many Areas From Kurdish Peshmerga, Intend To Complete The Takeover' Of Northern Iraq

In an official statement published August 2, 2014 on its Twitter page, the Islamic State (IS) in Ninawa Province declared the launching of an operation "to raid and occupy the border region between Ninawa province and Dahok Province [in Iraqi Kurdistan]. "

The statement claimed that IS forces have taken over many areas that were controlled by the Kurdish Peshmerga, that they have reached the place where the Iraqi, Turkish and Syrian borders meet, and that they intend to complete the takeover of the entire region (of northern Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan). The operation may mark the start of an IS campaign to occupy strategic areas in northern Iraq following the organization's successes in central Iraq and Al-Anbar province.

 

Ansar Al-Din Leader Calls Upon Jihad Groups To Form United Front Against France

On August 5, 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released via its official Twitter account a new video message from Iyadh Ag Ghali, leader of Ansar Al-Din, a jihad group active in the northern Mali region (Azawad). In the 24-minute-long video, Ag Ghali stressed that his group’s battle against France continues, and urged jihad groups operating in Mali to join forces against “the Crusader enemy.”

 

In Video, Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen Tells The Story Of Failed French Rescue Attempt Of French Hostage Dennis Allex

On August 1, 2014, the Somali Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen released a video titled "Beyond The Shadows: The Failed French Raid." The video documents the events leading up to the failed French raid in January 2013 that aimed at freeing Denis Allex, a French national kidnapped by Al-Shabab in 2009. Allex was executed by Al-Shabab in response to the failed rescue attempt. Images of dead Allex appear in the video.

 

AQAP Releases Final Part In Video Series Commemorating Its Deputy Commander Sa'id Al-Shihri


Sa'id Al-Shihri

On August 2, 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the third and final part in its video series commemorating Sa'id Al-Shihri, AQAP's deputy commander who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2013. Similar to the first two installments, the video includes footage of Al-Shihri along with a contingency of past and present AQAP commanders and members, including AQAP leader Nasser Al-Wuhaishi, AQAP military commander Qasim Al-Rimi, and a number of former Guantanamo detainees.

The video, which is 46:10 in duration, was released on the Twitter account of Abdallah Al-Mujahid. The account says it is an exclusive distributor of AQAP materials.

 

In Issue VI Of Jihadist Magazine 'Azan', Taliban Commander Adnan Rasheed Calls Upon Pakistanis For Support: 'Help, Support And Join Hands With The Mujahideen'


The cover page of the magazine

In the latest issue of the English-language Taliban magazine Azan, former Pakistan Air Force (PAF) commando and Pakistani Taliban Commander Adnan Rasheed narrates his experiences with interrogators from the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and calls upon Pakistanis to support the jihad launched by the mujahideen.

 

Cover Story In Issue VI Of Taliban Magazine 'Azan' Urges Jihadists To Adopt Pre-9/11 Strategy Of Targeting U.S. Interests, Says: 'We Have To Spread Our Attacks On U.S. Interests Throughout The World'

The latest issue of Azan - an English-language magazine released by the Taliban in Khorasan (the Afghanistan-Pakistan region) – features a cover story on America's role in the Muslim world and advocates the application of the mujahideen's pre-9/11 strategy to target American interests everywhere in order to stretch its resources.

 

Issue VI Of Taliban English-Language Magazine 'Azan' Explains Seven Criteria For Establishing Islamic Caliphate, Says It Aims To 'Wag[e] Jihad Against Those Who Oppose Islam After Being Called To It'


A page from the magazine 'Azan'

The latest issue of the English-language Taliban magazine Azan explains the criteria for establishing an Islamic caliphate under a single caliph, but it is not clear whether the magazine's editors were aware of the June 29 announcement by Abu Bakr Al-Baghadi, the chief of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, renamed the Islamic State, or IS), who declared himself the Caliph and demanded bai'yah (oaths of fealty) from all. It is possible that the magazine was published just before Al-Baghdadi declared his caliphate.

 

Issue VI Of Taliban Magazine 'Azan' Features 16 Points On 'Why We Do Jihad' Taken From Palestinian Theologian Sheikh Abdullah Azzam's Book


A page from the magazine

The latest issue of the Taliban's English-language magazine 'Azan' contains a 16-point excerpt from jihadi book "Join the Caravan" by Palestinian theologian Sheikh Abdullah Azzam.

 

Indian Daily: Kashmiri Youth With An MBA From Australia's Queensland University Joins ISIS In Syria


Kashmir Valley has witnessed intifada-type protests in recent years

Following are excerpts from an Indian media report that a youth from Srinagar, the capital of India's Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) state, who was radicalized at an Australian university, has joined the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS):

"For this business family of four in Srinagar's upscale Jawahar Nagar [area], life was smooth. For them, their eldest son, 26-year-old Adil Fayaz, was an achiever — an MBA from Australia's Queensland University ostensibly working with an NGO in Turkey. But the story, according to Indian security agencies, is very different."

 

In India's Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir States, Muslim Youth Express Public Support For Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi-Led Jihadist Group ISIS


Youth sporting 'ISIS' T-shirts pose near a mosque in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu state

Following are excerpts from Indian media reports about public demonstrations in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) led by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in two Indian states: the southern Tamil Nadu, from where several youths recently departed to fight in Syria, and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), where masked youth expressed public support for ISIS.

 

India's Intelligence Bureau: 'Huge Inflow Of Funds From Saudi Arabia Is Being Utilized To Nurture The Wahhabi Sect' And Build Mosques And Madrassas In India


Delhi's Jama Masjid: India has second largest Muslim population after Indonesia

Following are excerpts from an Indian media report quoting a India's Intelligence Bureau (IB), which warned of the growth of Wahhabism in the country through mosques and madrassas being set up across India with Saudi money:

"The [Wahhabi] Sect Has Generated Approximately Rs. 1,700 Crore (17 Billion Rupees) In The Past Three Years Through Funds Pumped In From Saudi Arabia"

"First up, two aspects you should know about the Wahhabis, the strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect, in India. 1. The current number of Wahhabi followers in India today stands at 18 lakh (1.8 million). 2. The sect has generated approximately Rs. 1,700 crore (17 billion Rupees) in the past three years through funds pumped in from Saudi Arabia."

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