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.
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
MEMRI's exclusive publication of the letter by Gazan ISIS fighter Abu 'Abdallah Al-Muhajir, in which he complained to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi about the cooperation between ISIS-Sinai and Hamas, caused a stir among the organization's operatives in Sinai and its supporters in Gaza. (For the letter, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6334, Exclusive: Letter By ISIS Fighter To Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Reveals ISIS-Sinai's Ties To Hamas, March 2, 2016).
After MEMRI exposed the letter and published a comprehensive translation of its contents, ISIS operatives in Sinai accused Gaza-based social media activists of breaching internet security and promised to hold them accountable for their indiscretion.
Abu 'Abdallah Al-Muhajir himself removed the letter from Justpaste.it and replaced it with a clarification, in which he did not retract his claims he had made in his letter but rather reiterated them. He wrote that he was sorry the letter had been widely distributed and used to defame ISIS. However, he was pleased that the issue had been brought to the attention of "concerned parties" in the organization, and expressed confidence that Al-Baghdadi would take care of the problem. Abu 'Abdallah also lashed out at the pro-ISIS media group Al-Nusra Al-Maqdisiyya for criticizing him, and challenged it to disprove the truth of the letter's contents.
Posting A Screenshot Of MEMRI's Report, ISIS-Sinai Activist Slams Those Who Wrote And Disseminated The Letter
On February 29, 2016, a supporter of ISIS-Sinai on Twitter who calls himself Al-Muhajir (@almohajer_3bk) rebuked the author of the letter and those who had disseminated it - specifically the Tameh Al-Ghazawi Twitter account (@t4560xcvx), which was the first to post the letter but later removed it. Al-Muhajir wrote that "the publication of lies, the spreading of false rumors, and neglect of the monotheists' security" are a mark of shame that will stick to all those who wrote the letter and spread it.
ISIS's official radio station Al-Bayan recently aired a 25-minute sermon by Abu-Osama Al-Masri, a senior commander and the chief spokesman of ISIS in Sinai. The sermon was also posted on YouTube on February 21, 2016 and on the Telegram channel of Al-Nusra Al-Maqdisiyya, an ISIS-affiliated media company, on March 5. In it, Al-Masri exhorts ISIS fighters to display forbearance and patience in this difficult period because Allah is testing and challenging them. His statements reflect the difficult situation in which ISIS currently finds itself, in Sinai and elsewhere.
On March 6, 2016, the Yemeni news website Al-Wasat published an interview with Khaled Batarfi, a senior commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in which he said that Al-Qaeda is still threatening U.S. security and targeting its interests. In the interview, conducted by journalist Ibrahim Al-Yafi'i, Batarfi also reiterated his rejection of the Caliphate declared by the Islamic State (ISIS), noted that Al-Qaeda seeks to liberate Muslim lands from occupation, and urged jihadi factions fighting in Syria to unite.
EXCLUSIVE: AQAP-Affiliated Newspaper Publishes Part IV Of Untold Stories About 9/11
In its sixth issue, Al-Masraa, a weekly jihadi newspaper affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) published the last in a series of articles based on an audio recording of the group's late leader, Nasser Al-Wuhaishi. In that recording, Al-Wuhaishi talked about what he had seen and experienced before, during, and after the 9/11 attacks, when he was with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
EXCLUSIVE: Self-Declared Virginia Grandma Part Of Pro-ISIS Clique On Facebook
SUPPORT OUR WORK
A woman calling herself Amina Virginia on Facebook is part of an expansive network of Islamic State (ISIS) and jihad supporters. Amina, who says that she lives in Winchester, VA, also says that she is a convert to Islam, and a 60-year old grandmother. She appears to be very careful about what she posts, and has stated that someone had "reported my name as violation" to Facebook. For the most part, she does not appear to be overtly pro-jihad or pro-ISIS, but the organizations and clerics she promotes indicate her allegiances, and her Facebook friends are overtly pro-ISIS. Most of them are ISIS supporters, but one is an ISIS recruiter and another is an ISIS fighter in Syria.
An article in the Islamic State's (ISIS) official newsletter, Al-Naba', discusses the "media points" that ISIS has established in the territories under its control (booths where the organization screens videos and distributes other propaganda materials). The article stresses the effectiveness of the media points in bringing ISIS's message to the local population and in recruiting loyalists and fighters, and presents testimony to this effect from ISIS members and officials (For more on the media points, see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1190, The Islamic State (ISIS) Establishes 'Media Points' In Syria, Iraq, Libya To Indoctrinate Caliphate Citizens And Enhance Its Cyber Activities On The Ground: A One-Year Review, October 7, 2015).
EXCLUSIVE: English-Speaking Jabhat Al-Nusra-Affiliated Fighter Tweets Weapons For Sale In Syria
An English-speaking fighter with on Twitter, who is supposedly based somewhere near Latakia governorate in Syria, periodically tweets images of weapons and advertises them for sale. He has listed guns, artillery pieces, night vision gear, a vintage vehicle, and even an elderly horse. He seems to be quite serious about selling the items, though regarding some he does appear to be kidding. The fighter does not provide specifics as to how the items can be purchased, but his Twitter page shows an address on the encrypted Tutanota email service. The following are some of the items he has offered for sale.
In recent days, two videos were posted on social media that carried messages by ISIS in the Caucasus to Muslims in Russia and the Caucasus region to join the Islamic state and fight the Russian regime. These videos come on the backdrop of Russian involvement in Syria and efforts by Russian security forces to thwart ISIS activity and expansion in the country. It is possible that the posting of these videos in close succession can indicate that ISIS is in desperate need to recruit new fighters to help it resist the pressure applied by the Russian regime. Additionally, ISIS apparently aims to use these videos to prove that it is also active outside of Syria and Iraq, where it recently suffered a series of territorial losses.
ISIS News Bulletin Publishes Interview With New ISIS Leader In Libya
The most recent issue of the Islamic State (ISIS) official newsletter Al-Naba', released online on March 8, 2016, featured an interview with Sheikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Najdi, the newly appointed ISIS leader in Libya. Al-Najdi replaces Abu Al-Mughira Al-Qahtani, the late Islamic State (ISIS) wali (governor) in Libya, who was killed last November in a U.S. airstrike.
ISIS Campaign Calls To Topple The Regime In Tunisia
ISIS supporters on social networks have launched an online campaign against the Tunisian regime, titled "Topple The Tunisian Tawaghit." The campaign comes against the backdrop of the events of the last few days, especially the massive ISIS attack on Tunisian army forces in the town of Ben Guerdane on March 7, as well as efforts by the authorities to discourage Tunisians from traveling to the jihad arenas. The campaign has included articles, banners, videos and the like, many of which were posted under a designated Twitter hashtag: "terrorize the Tunisian tawaghit."
African Jihadi Shares Lectures In Wolof Language By Islamic State Sheikh On Facebook
On March 4, 2016, on Facebook an individual shared a link to a series of lectures hosted on archive.org by an Islamic State sheikh who delivers sermons in the Wolof language. Wolof is spoken by more than 10 million people in West Africa, especially in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania. He appears to be an ISIS fighter himself, however, his current whereabouts are unclear. His profile has several references to Libya, and his name "Assomaly" denotes that he is from Somalia, so it is possible that he is fighting in Libya.
Screenshot of an AQIS-affiliated Twitter handle
Idara As-Sahab Barr-e-Sagheer (As-Sahab Institution for the Subcontinent) - a media group belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has launched a new series of reports on its activities, which includes a new Twitter hashtag. In the first week of March, AQIS-affiliated Twitter accounts began using the new hashtag, which refers to the Al-Hadeed News Report - AQIS's new initiative on social and electronic media.
Al-Athir Agency Publishes Photos Of AQAP Da'wa Center In Al-Bayda, Yemen
On February 18, 2016, Al-Athir, a media agency affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published photos of a Da'wa Center opened by the group in the city of the Al-Bayda, Yemen.
On Facebook And Twitter, Jaysh Al-Fath Affiliate Circulates Q&A Poster
On March 7, 2016, the Al-Muhajirun, a group of foreign fighters affiliated with Jaysh Al-Fath in Syria, released, via Facebook and Twitter, a poster with answers to three questions it said were asked frequently by prospective fighters: "Where does most of your help come from?
Telegram Channel Distributes AQAP 'Inspire' Magazine
On February 22, 2016, a Telegram channel called 'Inspire Magazine' was created to disseminate the English-language Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) magazine Inspire. Users can download PDF copies of issues of the magazine via the channel.
Jihadi Tech Group Offers Tutorial On Using Secure Messaging App Threema
On March 8, 2016, the Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF), a crowdsourcing group that offers tech-related information for jihadis, published a lengthy tutorial on installing and using the secure messaging app Threema.
