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.
On March 26, 2016, Al-Masra, a weekly newspaper affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published an article predicting that the coming U.S. presidential nominees will be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The article, which appears in the 8th issue of the newspaper, also predicted that the coming years will be crucial for the future of the U.S. and its Arab allies in the region.
On March 31, 2016, Al-Malahem - the official media wing of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - published a 7 minute audio recording of group official Sa'd bin 'Atef Al-Awlaki.
EXCLUSIVE: AQIS Video Reveals Details Of Its Fighters Killed In Recent Years
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has released a new video paying tribute to some of its fighters who were killed in recent years. Following are the details provided:
1. Name: Ustad Raja Muhammad Salman
Jihadi name: Ustad Farooq
Birth place: Islamabad
Died in South Waziristan in a U.S. drone strike in 2015.
On March 29, 2016, Al-Naba, a weekly newspaper of the Islamic State (ISIS), published an article praising the perpetrators of the Brussels attacks, which it claimed had exposed the vulnerability of the security systems in Europe. The article also encouraged jihadis living in the West to carry out more attacks by simply picking targets and striking them. It appeared on page 14 of the 16-page downloadable PDF version of the 24th issue of the newspaper, which was posted on ISIS-affiliated leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam.
Following the March 22, 2016 Brussels attacks, which targeted the Zaventem Airport and the Maalbeck metro station, a British fighter uploaded a video of himself and a friend to Instagram, showing the two reveling in the carnage and making threats for further attacks at specific targets in London. Shortly after the video was uploaded, the fighter changed his Instagram name to James_petterorvsik12, and recently added a threat to his account byline singling out London's Gatwick Airport. In an exchange with another Instagram user, he also explains his name change, and references a sleeper cell in Europe that is waiting for orders.
EXCLUSIVE: American Female ISIS Member Offers Justification For Paris, Brussels Attacks
On March 27, 2016, an American female ISIS member, posted, on her Telegram channel, a link to a Justepaste.it document she had created justifying both the Paris and Brussels attacks. In the note, she quotes Islamic jurisprudents to buttress her justifications, and argues that non-Muslims in the West are legitimate targets, regardless of their noncombative roles against Islam and Muslims.
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EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian Woman With Ties To ISIS Promotes Radical Ideology On Facebook
The following is a profile of a Palestinian woman who is a very active supporter of the Islamic State on Facebook. The woman, appears to live in the Jerusalem area, and apparently frequently obliges her Facebook friends who ask her to hold a paper with their name written on it in front of the Dome of the Rock. She is part of a large pro-ISIS Facebook clique, and she disseminates ISIS materials such as articles published in the organization's English-language magazine Dabiq. She also operates a pro-ISIS Telegram channel, on which she disseminates propaganda. She appears to have direct ties to ISIS members residing in the Islamic State, and often expresses her desire for the Islamic State conquer Israel.
On March 31, 2016, a member on the pro-ISIS forum Shumoukh Al-Islam (shamikh1.biz), Abu Humam Al-Najdi, posted a series of posters under the title "Message to the German Crusaders." The posters, produced by Al-Furat Media, ISIS's official media company releasing materials in German, urge terror attacks in Germany.
On March 25, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State of Al-Kheir province released a video featuring the group's fighters and locals condemning Belgium's role in the allied forces fighting against ISIS, distributing candies and cookies in celebration of the Brussels attacks, and promising more attacks, including a threat to "turn the White House into black."
JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
Video By ISIS In Libya Celebrates Brussels Attacks, Threatens: 'We Have Soldiers Everywhere'
On March 26, 2016 ISIS's "Tripoli Province" in Libya released a video, 6:30 minutes long, in response to the Brussels terror attack. The video was released on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam and distributed via social media.
ISIS Video Celebrates Brussels Attacks, Features Belgian Fighters Threatening More Attacks
On March 25, 2016, the Ninawa province of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video celebrating the March 22, 2016 Brussels attacks. The video features two Belgian fighters stating that the attacks came as revenge for the West's killing of Muslims; they also promise more attacks unless the West stops attacking Muslims.
On March 26, 2016, the Al-Raqqa province of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video featuring Belgian jihadi Abu Hanifa Al-Baljiki, aka Hicham Chaib, commenting on the March 22 Brussels attacks. He calls the attacks a natural reaction to Belgium's attacks on Muslims and Islam, and warns that ISIS will continue targeting its enemies on their own soil if the war against it continues.
On March 28, 2016, The Islamic State's Al-Furat province in Iraq released a video titled "An Eye for an Eye," part of a series of ISIS videos on the Brussels terror attacks.
The video, some 3:30 minutes long, features an unidentified Islamic State (ISIS) fighter wearing a suicide vest who delivers a message to the West, in French. In addition, the video shows news footage of the Brussels attacks and of Western reactions to them, including sound bites from reactions by the Belgian king and prime minister. Also shown is an image of French ISIS fighter Abu Tasnim, who, according to ISIS, carried a suicide attack in Iraq in 2015, though no actual proof of his death has come to light. The video ends with a segment from a speech by ISIS spokesman Muhammad Al-'Adnani in which he explains that ISIS did not initiate the war and that its attacks are retaliation for the West's aggression towards it (a message that ISIS has been reiterating regarding its attacks in Europe). The soundtrack of the video is the ISIS song in French glorifying martyrdom for the same of Allah.
On March 30, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Tripoli, Libya released a video extolling its judicial system for successfully settling long-held disputes and for implementing shari'a punishments against murderers, thieves, sorcerers, adulterers, and apostates. The video, which was released on the ISIS-affiliated leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, also featured two ISIS fighters from Nigeria and Somalia who, speaking English, attributed the security enjoyed by the city's residents to the implementation of shari'a law, adding that they want to live under this law and also to raise their children to conquer Rome.
On March 27, 2016, U.S.-born media activist Bilal Abdul Kareem shared, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts, an installment in the series of video news reports called "On The Ground News" in which his reporter colleague Shady Shami interviewed Syrian civilians in Idlib about the March 22 Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in Brussels. The interviewees' responses were nearly identical: All expressed sympathy for the innocent civilians, and condemned the attacks as un-Islamic. Bilal 'Abdul Kareem, from New York, converted to Islam at the age of 27 and went to Egypt to study. He is pro-Al-Qaeda, and, accordingly, supports the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) as well as Jaysh Al-Fath ,of which JN is a part, and is critical of ISIS. He has previously posted his interviews with JAF and shared via Facebook and Twitter contain previous interviews he conducted in Syria with JAF and JN fighters and clerics.
ISIS Sinai Video Documents Group's Military Training Camp, Raid On Egyptian Military Checkpoint
The Sinai province of the Islamic State (ISIS) today released a video documenting the military training in one of the group's camps in the peninsula. It shows ISIS fighters undergoing various physical and military training drills, including training for attacking vehicles, carrying out targeted assassinations, and storming buildings.
An extensive report in the online Syrian paper Zamanalwasl.net, by 'Ali Eid, reviews ISIS's attempts to expand in Hauran, a region in southwest Syria. The report, titled "ISIS in Hauran - Reversals, Leaderships and the Failure of the Intimidation and Terrorization Plan," discusses two jihad organizations, Liwa Shuhada Al-Yarmouk and Harakat Al-Muthanna Al-Islamiyya, which it claims are operating under ISIS sponsorship in southern Syria, primarily in the Al-Quneitra, Dara and the Wadi Al-Yarmouk areas. The article also mentions that, according to recent reports, another group acting in the region, Jaysh Al-Jihad, led by Abu Mus'ab Al-Fanusi, has also sworn loyalty to the Islamic State. The incorporation of Jaysh Al-Jihad effectively expands ISIS' influence to additional south Syrian regions, up to Al-Suwayda and Al-Laja.
On March 28, 2016, Al-Himma Library, an ISIS publishing house, released a leaflet listing 20 reasons why residents in territories under the group's control should destroy their satellite dishes. In the downloadable version of the leaflet, which was published on Al-Himma's Telegram channel and shared by pro-ISIS accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the group warned that those who do not comply would be punished by the religious police.
Jahbat Al-Nusra Release Video Eulogizing Prominent British Fighter
On March 25, 2016 Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) released a video titled, "The Life of Abu Baseer Al-Hindi," a tribute to one of its British members who died in the latter part of 2015. Links to the video hosted on YouTube were circulated on various pro-JN accounts on Twitter and on Telegram.
TIP Releases 10th Installment Of Photo Album Documenting Its Activities In Syria
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), the Uighur jihad organization, has released its 10th photo album documenting some of its activities in Syria, including military training of its fighters, participation in battles, and aspects of normal daily life among its men. The digital photo album, released by the group's media wing Sawt Al-Islam, also shows children of various ages receiving military training and bearing various weapons.
TIP Releases Part 13 In Its 'Call From The Frontlines Of Jihad' Video Series
On March 30, 2016, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released part 13 in its "Call From The Frontlines Of Jihad" video series, which features messages by TIP fighters stationed on various battlefronts in Syria.
