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: ISIS Pledges To Conquer Lebanon, Threatens Its Christians
On March 11, 2016, ISIS's "Al-Raqqa Province" in Syria released a 12-minute video titled "Oh Grandsons of the Prophet's Companions in Lebanon." The video features two ISIS operatives who call on Lebanon's Sunni Muslims to join ISIS and rise up against their government. One of them also promises that ISIS will conquer Lebanon and then Jerusalem, and calls on Lebanon's Christians to either embrace Islam or pay the poll tax, otherwise they will be punished.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Features: Elderly Man Carries Out A Suicide Bombing In Iraq
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EXCLUSIVE: Jordanian Group Declares Loyalty To Al-Baghdadi, Vows To Behead Jordanian King Abdallah
In recent days an allegedly Jordanian group published a message pledging of loyalty to Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, and threatening Jordan's King Abdallah. The message was released in reaction to the recent Jordanian security forces' radid against an ISIS cell in Irbid.
The following report is from MEMRI's Counter-Radicalization Initiative.
Islamic State (ISIS) militants
In a recent article, Indian Islamic scholar Ghulam Ghaus examined various classical Islamic sources, in which he identified some key characteristics of Kharijite (rebel) forces in Islam such as the Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Ghulam Ghaus "is an Alim and Fazil (classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background," according to NewAgeIslam.com which published his article. A note accompanying the article states that Ghulam Ghaus "completed the classical Islamic sciences from a Delhi-based Sufi Islamic seminary Jamia Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia... with specialization in Tafseer [interpretation of the Koran], Hadith [traditions of Prophet Muhammad], and Arabic."
In an article in a recent issue of Pakistani jihadi weekly Haftroza Al-Qalam, radical cleric Talha Saif details several key principles of jihadi targets. Haftroza Al-Qalam is a weekly newspaper published by Pakistani jihadi group Jaish-e-Muhammad and is sold openly across Pakistan.
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ISIS Suicide Bombers Threaten 'To Raid' Moscow
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Fighter In ISIS Video Vows To Defeat Russians
On March 10, 2016, the Islamic State (ISIS) Damascus province released a video titled "The Protectors of Good Deeds." The video shows battles between ISIS and the Syrian army forces near Mahin in the Homs governorate, and refers to an attack on a building serving as a command center for Syrian army forces in the village of Huwwarin in the Homs governorate. The attack was carried out by two of ISIS's inghimasiyun fighters - commandos that infiltrate deep into enemy territory.
ISIS Video Shows Body Of 'Russian Military Advisor' Killed By ISIS Near Palmyra
On March 17, 2016, the Islamic State (ISIS) news agency 'Amaq released a video showing the body of what it claimed to be a Russian military advisor killed by ISIS in battles west of Palmyra, Syria.
ISIS Video Shows Downing Of Iraqi Military Aircraft, Dead Crew Members
The Islamic State (ISIS) news agency 'Amaq reported today that ISIS had downed an Iraqi military aircraft over Al-Huwaija, Kirkuk. The agency also released a short video of the plane moments before its crash, along with scenes from the wreckage with graphic images of the crew's mutilated bodies.
ISIS Burns 'Christian Instruction Books' In Mosul
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 10, 2016, the Islamic State's news agency A'maq released a 25-seconds video titled "Diwan of Education Destroys Christian Instruction Books." The video shows a large pile of booklets ablaze and an ISIS member adding more to the pile.
ISIS Fighter In Libya Shares Experiences On Facebook
An Islamic State (ISIS) fighter on Facebook claims to be fighting in Sirte, Libya. The ISIS fighter often posts photos of weapons, local scenery, and food. He interacts with many ISIS supporters around the globe, and regularly extolls the virtues of traveling abroad to wage jihad. Based on his knowledge of Swahili, he is likely East African in origin, and also speaks English and Arabic. He apparently plays a part in recruiting members to join ISIS in Libya
On March 12, 2016, Al-Athir, a media agency affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published a video documenting a three-night event titled "Oh Aqsa We Are Coming," which the group had organized between March 2 and 4, 2016, in the city of Mukalla, Yemen. The video, links to which were posted on Al-Athir's Facebook and Twitter accounts, highlighted parts of the programs presented in the event, which including standup comedy, martial art performances and presentations, as well as coverage of the different activities taking place in several Da'wa centers.
Telegram Channel Devoted to AQAP's 'Inspire' Magazine Posts Bomb-Making Instructions
A Telegram channel called Inspire Muslims shared, on March 17, 2016, pages from the well-known article from Inspire, the English-language online magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom." The article originally appeared in magazine's premiere issue in the summer of 2010. The shared pages included step-by-step instructions and images on bomb-making.
On March 13, 2016, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a full statement concerning its attack that day on the resort town of Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast.
Immediately following the attack, AQIM had released a brief statement claiming responsibility for it, via its Telegram channel.
In the full statement, AQIM said that the attack was part of its ongoing campaign to target the Crusaders' "dens" in the region, and underlined that the resort town was in fact a "spying and conspiracy den" used by the "heads of crime and theft."
AQIM Claims Responsibility For Ivory Coast Attacks Via Its Telegram Channel
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for today's deadly attacks at three hotels in the beach resort city of Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast.
On February 25, 2016, it was reported that Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of Pakistani jihadist group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), had been arrested by the Pakistani government. While reports of his arrest had been circulating in the media since mid-January, it was not formally confirmed until Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister's advisor on foreign affairs, stated that Masood Azhar was in the "protective custody" of the Pakistani security agencies.
On March 15, 2016, Sawt Al-Islam, the media wing of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a jihadi group of Uyghur Muslims from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in western China, released a trailer for an upcoming video documenting its fighters' involvement in major battles in Syria and calling on Muslims to join the jihad there.
