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.)
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EXCLUSIVE: French Female ISIS Member And Her Young Son Defect From ISIS Stronghold Al-Raqqa, Syria
On April 25, 2015, "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," the group in Al-Raqqa, Syria that is resisting the Islamic State's (ISIS's) rule there, tweeted information about a young Frenchwoman of African descent whom it says has defected from ISIS and fled the city with her young son.
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Texas Shooting And Issues Threat To U.S.
In a May 5, 2015 news bulletin the Islamic State's (ISIS) official radio station, Al-Bayan, which broadcasts in Mosul, claimed responsibility for the May 3 shooting in Garland, Texas.
A Look At Texas Gunman Nadir Soofi's Facebook Account
On May 3, 2015, two gunmen from Arizona named Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi targeted Garland, Texas event calling for participants to draw the Prophet Muhammad. Some insight into gunman Nadir Soofi can be gleaned from his Facebook Account.
Screenshot of Soofi's Facebook Account
According to Soofi's Facebook profile, he graduated from the Interational School of Islamabad in 1998. He also listed the University of Utah as another school at which he had studied.
Warning - Extremely Graphic: ISIS Video Shows Boy Executing Iraqi 'Spy'
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WARNING: Graphic Images. ISIS Executes Homosexuals By Casting Them Off Rooftops, Shooting Them
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
The Islamic State (ISIS) has been executing homosexuals in the areas under its control by casting them off a rooftop and then stoning them. On May 2, 2015, the ISIS Information Bureau in "Al-Jazira province" in northern Iraq released photos documenting yet another execution of this kind, this time in the town of Al-Ba'aj. The photos, which were posted on the Jihadi Media Platform forum and elsewhere, show the condemned man standing blindfolded on the roof of a two-story building and then being hurled down before a large crowd of onlookers. Subsequent photos show his body lying in the street amid large stones, indicating that he too was stoned after being thrown from the roof.
Islamic State Beheads 'Sorcerer' In Libya
On May 4, 2015, the Islamic State's (ISIS's) Barqa province, in eastern Libya, released several photos showing the execution of a man convicted of sorcery in Benghazi. ISIS provided a picture of the man and the "hieroglyphs" that were supposedly used by him.
Pro-ISIS Group Gives Advice On Android Security
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On May 1, 2015, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media body active primarily on Twitter, released a series of safety recommendations for Android users.
The recommendations, headlined "Security advices for the supporters of the Islamic State," provided a list of ant-virus programs to be used by ISIS supporters on their Android devices, including Avast Antivirus, Bitdefender Mobile Security, Kaspersky Antivirus, and Norton Mobile Security.
ISIS Social Media Distribute List Of Favorite Videos From District Media Branches
On March 5, 2015, Al-Hayat Media, the Islamic State (ISIS) media wing dedicated to publishing content in non-Arabic languages, distributed via Twitter a list of 10 selected videos produced by local ISIS media offices. The selection was advertised on a poster distributed via several pro-ISIS twitter accounts, and was denoted with hashtags in Arabic and in English. Within an hour, each hashtag had been used some 100 times.
In addition to the aim of distributing the ISIS videos via a new hashtag, the campaign may also have served as a way to boost competition between the different local media offices. Each district under ISIS control has an independent media production office that is in charge of releasing original ISIS multimedia content, including documents, photos, and videos.
On May 6, 2015, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) announced the formation of Jaysh Al-Fath - Al-Qalamoun, a coalition of rebel forces, including JN, which will operate in the Al-Qalamoun region in western Syria.
Many factions are active in the strategic location of Al-Qalamoun near the Lebanese border, including JN and other Islamic factions, the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as the Syrian military and Hizbullah forces.
AQAP Confirms Death Of Top Official Nassir Al-Ansi
Khalid Batirfi
On May 7, 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced the death of its top official Sheikh Nassir bin 'Ali Al-Ansi, who, along with his son and a few other men, were killed in a U.S. drone strike. In the last several months, Al-Ansi appeared in several AQAP videos. He had gained prominence especially after other key AQAP figures were killed, also in U.S. drone strikes. Al-Ansi's death thus signifies another major blow to AQAP whose leadership has been practically eradicated.
In a new video, Asim Umar, the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), pays tribute to his deputy emir Ustad Ahmad Farooq and to AQIS Shura member Qari Imran, who were killed in a U.S. drone strike in January this year. Asim Umar does not appear in the video; only his audio statement is included.
Ustad Ahmad Farooq, whose real name was Raja Muhammad Salman, was also head of Al-Qaeda's Department of Media and Preaching for Pakistan. He was the first Pakistani to rise to a senior position in the ranks of Al-Qaeda. Qari Imran aka Qari Obaidullah was also AQIS governor for Afghanistan and had spent 20 years in jihad including in Kashmir.
On May 2, 2015, Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Sahab released a recorded message by Maulana Asim Umar, head of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), in which he claimed responsibility for the assassination of several individuals, including Bangladeshi-American blogger and activist Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh in February 2015. Asim Umar said those assassinations were part of orders made by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The targets were accused of blasphemy.
Below are the main points of Maulana Asim Umar's message according to the English transcript provided by Al-Sahab:
Asim Umar praises the attacks committed in recent months against those insulted Muhammad. The attacks, he says, 'have taught a lesson to blasphemers in France, Denmark, Pakistan, and now in Bangladesh,' and have 'filled the hearts of the believers with serenity.'
In that regard, Asim Umar notes that the 'mujahideen of Al-Qaeda in the [Indian] Subcontinent [AQIS] have recently assassinated several blasphemers of the Prophet... and insulters of the shari'a.' He also says that the assassination 'campaign' was part of orders sent by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
After his Twitter account was suspended recently, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) spokesman Usama Mahmood opened a new account. His tweets show growing frustration among the group of jihadis who are ideologically opposed to Pakistan and advocate establishment of Islamic Sharia rule there.
Designated Terror Group Ansar Al-Shari'a In Libya Begins Using Telegram To Disseminate Its News
On May 2, 2015, the Atheer Al-Madina radio channel, which belongs to the militant group Ansar Al-Shari'a in Libya (ASL), announced that it will begin sending its news via the instant messenger app Telegram.
Jihadi Twitter Account Issues Threats To Pakistan, Disseminates TTP Commanders' Videos, Statements
In a series of tweets, a jihadi account on Twitter associated with Pakistani Taliban groups has issued threats against Pakistani cities and claimed responsibility for several other recent jihadi attacks in Pakistan.
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) is a Pakistani jihadi group known for selectively killing Shi'ites, whom it considers infidels. Although banned, the group continues to operate under different names: Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), and now Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). The latter name is meant to make the organization appear to be a Barelvi group, though the SSP-LeJ-ASWJ is essentially a Deobandi group.
In a series of recent tweets, a Taliban-associated jihadi account on Twitter, Umar Bakistani, challenged the SSP for digressing from its ideological mission of jihad, after the SSP leaders, especially Asmatullah Muawiya (who is the emir of the Punjabi Taliban), was coopted by the Pakistani military. As of May 2, Umar Bakistani has tweeted 343 times, follows 135 accounts, and is followed by 383 others on Twitter.
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) is an outlawed anti-Shi'ite organization in Pakistan and also operates under the following names: Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). Although it is banned, it continues to use Twitter to report on developments regarding its interests and the activities of its local leaders across Pakistan.
On May 2, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTPJA), a powerful faction that recently realigned with the parent group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), issued a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.
In an Urdu-language statement, TTPJA spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said: "I want to remind the Kufr [unbelief] and its allies once again that we are following in the footsteps of Sheikh Osama bin Laden. And while walking on this true path, we will either achieve martyrdom or we will give practical shape to the dream of our martyred leader, by enforcing shari'a in the entire world."
On April 30, 2015, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a jihad organization of Uyghur Muslims from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in Western China, released a video documenting the group's role in the recent battle to take over the town of Jisr Al-Shughur in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.
A number of Islamic factions, including Jaysh Al-Fath coalition, which includes Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), participated in the battle which was called the "Battle of Victory."
The takeover of Jisr Al-Shughur signals another significant blow to the Syrian regime after Islamic factions took over the city of Idlib last month.
