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: The Islamic State (IS) Establishes Itself In Iraq And Syria
Introduction
Since the Islamic State's (IS) June 30, 2014 declaration of a caliphate led by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the group has considered itself a sovereign political entity that dispenses law and order, health care, welfare, education, religion, and more according to shari'a law, in the areas it controls in Iraq and Syria.
In a July 2014 sermon in Mosul, Iraq, Caliph Al-Baghdadi declared that the lives of the Muslims living under the IS would be substantially improved, since previous regimes had tyrannized and abused them. As part of its efforts to establish its control, the IS is indeed working to enhance conditions for Islamic State residents, as per Al-Baghdadi's promise, and is widely publicizing its accomplishments.
The IS's reports about its improvements of conditions are aimed at gaining the trust of the residents in its areas, and at depicting itself as an organized, stable entity to whom the wellbeing of its residents is of major concern in contrast with its image worldwide? as a violent and bloodthirsty organization. By doing so, it is also sending a message to Muslims in countries bordering Iraq and Syria that their lives will improve once The IS expands to their region, with the aim of disarming potential resistance.
But the main reason for touting its own successes in improving its residents' lives is the IS's desire to show that a truly Islamic regime is preferable to the regimes of the infidel rulers that it supplanted, and that Muslims would be better off if they made hijra that is, emigrated to its Islamic Caliphate.
It should also be mentioned that even today, in the midst of the international anti-IS campaign, IS information offices in the provinces continue to distribute videos and informational material depicting how in areas under its control all is calm and daily life continues uninterrupted. For example, a YouTube video posted September 23, 2014 shows lively urban activity on the main street of the major IS-controlled city, Al-Raqqa in Syria, even though American jets had bombed the area earlier that day.
Likewise, the information office of Iraq's Mosul province released a series of photos titled "The City of Mosul Thrives Under the Islamic State," showing the streets of the embattled city quiet, with regular traffic, bustling commercial activity, monuments lit up at night, IS banners on bridges, and children with the black jihadi flag playing by the river.
Until late 2013, the IS was one of the many Islamist groups operating in Iraq and Syria that cooperated with each other in order to establish their municipal, security, and shari'a authority in the areas that had captured. Thus, for example, in March 2013, a joint shari'a court was established in eastern Syria by all Salafi-jihadi factions, including the IS, that operated there. However, beginning in late 2013, disagreements between the factions led to a schism between the IS and Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) and other Islamic rebel groups. As a result of this schism, the IS gained strength, while the other factions weakened; it also expanded the territory under its control, and changed the structure and composition of the public institutions in those territories, adapting them to suit the group's ideology.
This paper will present examples of the IS's efforts to establish its control in all areas of life in the territories under its control, including instituting shari'a law, overseeing education, ensuring law and order, and more.
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Jabhat Al-Nusra Releases Video Documenting Its Role In Breaking The Siege Of Al-Maliha, Syria; Says It Managed To Free Over 500 Mujahideen Of Other Jihad Groups
On October 23, 2014, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) released a 35-minute video documenting the group's role in the Battle of Al-Maliha, a strategic town southeast of Damascus, which has been the center of fierce fighting between Syrian regime forces and jihad groups in recent months. At one point, the Syrian military laid siege to the city, reportedly trapping hundreds of mujahideen inside it in the process. In the video, JN documents its role in breaking that siege, which, it says, led to the freeing of over 500 mujahideen. JN emphasizes that it opted to come to the aid of the mujahideen from other jihad groups as part of the obligation of support that Muslims share towards one another. JN noted in that regard that from the hundreds of the mujahideen trapped in Al-Maliha, fewer than 15 were JN members.
Member On Jihadi Forum: Lone Wolf Attackers Can Employ UAVs To Strike Sensitive Targets In U.S., West
In a October 26, 2014 post, Abu-Khabib Al-Ansari, a member of the jihadist forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, recommended using UAVs to carry out terror attacks in the U.S. and other Western countries.
Technical Section Of Al-Battar Media Offers Tutorial On Installing TOR On Android
On October 13, 2014, the Twitter account for Warshat Fursan Al-Nashr, a subsidiary of the Al-Battar media company the mouthpiece of the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum posted a link to a tutorial on installing the anonymizing software TOR (The Onion Router) on Android devices.
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Jihadis Circulate Tutorials On Maintaining Online Anonymity And Security, Suggest Ways To 'Hide From The Crusader Alliance'
Pro-Islamic State (IS) jihadis have recently increased their efforts to remain anonymous online, especially in light of the coalition attack against the IS, including by circulating various tutorials pertaining to online anonymity and security in recent weeks. The tutorials aim at diminishing jihadis' digital footprints in order for them to remain hidden from the "Crusader alliance." Among the recommendations are ways to get rid of metadata, which the enemy can use to reveal a jihadi's identity and location. These safety precautions, as one jihadi noted, are aimed not only at protecting the IS's mujahideen but that of its contingency of online supporters as well, who face the danger of being arrested or even killed.
Jihadi Offers Ways To Hide From Coalition Airstrikes
Jihadis are sharing recommendations on avoiding detection and targeting by coalition airstrikes. On the Jihadi Media Platform forum (alplatformmedia.com), a member named Mubghib Ulamaa' Al-Tasawoul posted images of men wearing space blankets, which, he says, can be used to conceal one's body heat signal. He also posted a picture of a tank equipped with a cover that camouflages it. Mubghib Ulamaa' Al-Tasawoul wrote: "Important, easy, and relatively cheap method, the method of covering a tank and camouflaging it from the treacherous Crusader eyes…publish [it] o supporters of the [Islamic] State."
Image Posted On Twitter Of Alleged American Jabhat Al-Nusra Fighter Killed By Coalition In Aleppo
On October 14, 2014, a Twitter account posted an image of an alleged American Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) fighter who died in a coalition airstrike against JN headquarters in Aleppo.
Syrian Academic At Saudi University Announces She Has Joined The Islamic State
Eman Mustafa Al-Bugga, a Syrian academic who taught Islamic jurisprudence and economics at Dammam University in Saudi Arabia, announced on her Twitter account that she has joined the Islamic State (IS). She also swore fealty to IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.
Report: Indian Security Officials Detain Former Google Employee For Trying To Join ISIS
In India's Hyderabad city, police officials detained a former Google employee for allegedly trying to join the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, according to a media report.
Photos Posted On Jihadi Forum Allegedly Show Albu Nimr Tribesmen Killed By Islamic State In Iraqi Town Of Hit (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)
A series of graphic photos posted October 29, 2014 on the jihadi forum Alplatformmedia.com show bodies laid out in a row on an urban street. According to the post, these are the bodies of 46 "apostates," members of the Sunni Albu Nimr tribe in the Iraqi town of Hit, who were executed by the Islamic State (ISIS) for collaborating with the Iraqi military. An ISIS supporter calling himself Anis Al-Ghurabaa tweeted that the bodies also included Iraqi soldiers and policemen.
British IS Hostage John Cantlie Reports From Inside Kobani, Says Battle Over City Is Almost Over And Islamic State Has Won
John Cantlie
On October 27, 2014, the Islamic State (IS) released a five-minute video featuring British hostage John Cantlie, who reports from inside the city of Kobani (Ayn Al-Arab). Cantlie refutes Western media claims that fighting is still taking place in the city and that the IS is on the retreat. Rather, Cantlie claims that the battle for Kobani is almost over, and that the IS's mujahideen have won.
The is the first appearance of Cantlie in a "live-from-scene" type of video. Cantlie is the face behind the IS's series "Lend Me Your Ears," whose fifth installment was released two days ago.
Islamic State Releases Fifth Installment In Series Featuring British Hostage John Cantlie
On October 25, 2014, the Islamic State (IS) released the fifth installment in the series titled "Lend Me Your Ears" featuring British hostage John Cantlie. In it, Cantlie discusses the living conditions of Western prisoners held by the IS. He says in that regard that overall "it wasn't a bad life." Cantlie says however that the IS used waterboarding against some of the prisoners who attempted to escape. He also expresses great dissatisfaction from the way the U.S. and UK government handled the negotiations thus far. Cantlie notes that while all other hostages were released after their governments agreed to negotiate with the IS, American and British hostages are the only one still left behind.
Jihadi Organization Ajnad Misr Establishes Media Wing
On October 27, 2014, the Salafi-jihadi organization Ajnad Misr, which operates in Egypt, tweeted an official communiqué announcing the establishment of its new media wing, the Al-Kinana Information Institute. "Al-Kinana" is a nickname for Egypt.
According to the communiqué, Al-Kinana was established to counter distortions published by the official Egyptian government media, because "the information battle is no less important than the military battle." It added that the institute would be the organization's information arm and would "disseminate our publications, document our activities, [and] publish our letters to our people and address their problems."
Rare Images From Af-Pak Region: Former Pakistani Taliban Chief Hakimullah Mehsud's Children Take Up Weapons
In the image above posted by a jihadi Twitter account, the under-age sons of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emir Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike on November 1 last year, are shown carrying weapons.
Indian Media: 180 Bangladeshi Militants Hiding In India's West Bengal State, JMB Group Exporting IEDs To Bangladesh
According to an Indian media report, 180 militants from Bangladesh, where the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cracked down on jihadist groups, are hiding in the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal of which Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital.
In New Magazine, 'Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent' Accuses Bangladeshi Government Of Anti-Islam Policies: 'With Wholehearted Support From The West And India, The Ruling Class In Bangladesh Has Set Out To Eliminate Every Trace Of Islam
A page from the AQIS magazine
Below are excerpts from a commentary and an article about Bangladesh that appeared in the new magazine 'Resurgence' launched by Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The establishment of AQIS was announced by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in early September.
In Bangladesh, the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid has launched a crackdown against jihadi organizations as well as Islamist parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. A special war crimes tribunal has sentenced several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh to death for war crimes during the 1971 war, in which they sided with West Pakistan against the Bangla-speaking people of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
In the AQIS magazine, which is devoted to South Asia and outlines Al-Qaeda's jihadi strategy for the region, a commentary and an article accused the Hasina government of carrying out extra-judicial killings of political opponents and of promoting anti-Islam policies, allegedly with the help of neighboring India and the West.
"Since January This Year, More Than 138 People Have Been Reportedly Killed In Extra-Judicial Killings [In Bangladesh]… At Least 179 People Were Killed In Extra-Judicial Killings In 2013"
The following are excerpts from the commentary:
"The spate of extra-judicial killings continues unabated in Bangladesh. Since January this year, more than 138 people have been reportedly killed in extra-judicial killings. According to a legal aid group, the Ain O Salesh Kendra (ASK), at least 179 people were killed in extra-judicial killings in 2013, while the Jamaat-e-Islami claims that 184 activists from its party alone were killed in extra-judicial murders between February 2013 and January 2014. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been accused of being involved in these killings. RAB has gained notoriety in recent years because of its involvement in summary executions and kidnapping people for ransom (as in Narayangonj recently)."
Indian Media: Bangla-Language Al-Qaeda Pamphlet Circulating In Indian State Advocates Establishing Islamic Caliphate In Bangladesh
Al-Qaeda magazine devoted to South Asia
Below are excerpts from an Indian media report which revealed that an Al-Qaeda pamphlet has been circulating in India's West Bengal state along the Bangladesh border, calling for establishing an Islamic caliphate in Bangladesh:
"Intelligence officials in [India's eastern state of] West Bengal have found a purported Al-Qaeda pamphlet, which talks about establishing an ISIS-style Islamic caliphate in Bangladesh – one that eventually includes several eastern and northeastern Indian states. The pamphlet, written in Bangla and being secretly distributed in West Bengal and Assam [states of India], says establishing a caliphate in Bangladesh is crucial for intensifying jihad in Indian states on the eastern border [along Bangladesh]. The text, credited to Al-Qaeda's media wing, specifically mentions West Bengal and Assam, though intelligence officials suspect [that the Indian states of] Bihar and Jharkhand also feature in the terror group's plans."
